


Last Friday Night

by mezziedemo



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Bit of fun really, Excessive Drinking, F/M, Harry gets famous!, Louis gets Jealous!, M/M, descriptions of violence - no actual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-11-22
Packaged: 2018-02-23 15:45:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 50,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2552972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mezziedemo/pseuds/mezziedemo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis, Niall, Liam and Zayn work together at SuperNova Records.  Every Friday night they go out together for drinks after work.  This Friday night was going to be a night to remember – except they really can’t remember any of it!<br/>Louis wakes up with a strange set of videos on his phone of a beautiful green eyed boy and no recollection of the night before.  He doesn’t know the boy’s name or anything about him, but he’d like to!<br/>Also - Niall is missing.<br/>Also - Zayn and Liam wake up tangled around each other – only they’re both straight.<br/>Also -Harry can't understand why he keeps dreaming of blue eyes until he meets the boy that owns them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there - hope you enjoy my story!
> 
> As usual, I have tried to proof as much as I can but please forgive any errors!
> 
> I will update every few days as usual.
> 
> :) xx

“Let’s do something different this Friday night guys” whined Niall. “I’m sick of doing the local, it’s getting boring and it’s harder than ever to pick up there.”

“That’s because you have literally slept with every girl there already Niall “chuckled Liam “some of them twice.”

Niall pondered this for a moment and then grinned. “Pretty much, yeah.”  

Louis grins and raises his fist to Niall for a fist bump because, really, that’s a solid effort right there and Niall cackles as he touches his fist to Louis’.

“Don’t encourage him Lou” scolded Liam.

“Well, I’m with Niall” declared Louis “we could really use a change, something to spice things up a bit. Our lives are becoming predictable and boring and that’s just unacceptable.”

“Our lives are not boring Louis” stated Zayn, his exasperation evident. “You and Niall are just toddlers who constantly need new things to stimulate them because their attention spans are so limited.”

“Nothing wrong with needing to be stimulated Zayn” said Louis with mock seriousness.

Niall snickered as he agreed “Yeah Zayn, I’m all for a bit of stimulation, if you get my drift, eh?” He nudged Louis and they both cackled.

Zayn just shook his head “Like I said – toddlers.”

“Well, all I know is that there’s this underground club I’ve been hearing about in Chelsea and it’s new and really hip, and they have these cocktails that are called Green Fairy Dust, made with absinthe, that can make you forget your own name!”

“Why would I want to forget my own name?” exclaimed Liam, appalled “I can’t think of anything more horrible than getting so fucked up I forget who I am!”

“I don’t think it’s meant to be taken literally Liam” scoffed Louis “you probably just get really shitfaced on them, that’s all. Anyway, you don’t have to try one if you don’t want to. Just drink beer and watch the rest of us get shitfaced!”

“Exactly Liam!” agreed Niall “it’d just be nice to do something new.”

“Or some _one_ new” added Louis wistfully and Niall threw back his head, laughing hysterically.

“Too right Louis, you haven’t been laid in forever!” he chuckled.

“I fail to see how me not getting laid in forever is funny Niall – it’s a tragedy as far as I’m concerned. The absolute lack of cute blokes in London is horrifying” Louis whined. “Besides, Liam has been longer without sex than me and I don’t see you picking on him!”

“Well, that’s because Sophia broke his heart – that would just be cruel” explained Niall. “You, on the other hand, are just a picky bastard who has yet to commit to anything more than a one night stand.”

“Not true!” interrupted Zayn.

“Thank you Zayn!” said Louis indignantly glaring at Niall.

“Yeah, there was that really hot guy last month that lasted at least three nights before Louis chucked him!” Zayn threw back his head, laughing like he’d just told the funniest joke in the world, Niall and Liam joining in.

Louis stood up, striding out of the lunch room. “Fuck off you lot, I’m off to find better friends.”

They just laughed harder as he disappeared up the hallway. He stalked into his office, shutting the door with perhaps a little too much force. He was irritable and frustrated – Niall was right, he hadn’t been laid in just about forever and it was making him grumpy.

He wasn’t as picky as Niall had insinuated. Well, maybe he was, truth be told, but really – why should he waste his time on someone if the fireworks weren’t there? He liked a good shag just as much as the next guy, but there was no use dating someone if there was no real potential there for anything more.

He remembers back to a conversation he’d had with his Nan just before she died, when he’d asked her how you know if you’re in love. She had told him that he should never consider himself in love, without feeling the fireworks. When he asked her what she’d meant, she said “it feels like fireworks are going off inside your skin, sparks flying and heat and colours and you feel them to your very toes Louis – that’s when you’ll know you’re in love. The fireworks never lie.”

Her words had stayed with him. He remembers how they had made him feel at the time, tingling with anticipation, wanting to feel everything she had spoken about.

So he was waiting for the fireworks. It may be stupid, but he knows, deep down inside that he won’t be able to settle for less than that feeling.

XXXXXX

Friday rolled around and Louis had been working non-stop, going over contracts for the new artists they were signing, making sure everything was in order. It was boring and tedious and he was losing his mind.

People always assumed that his job at SuperNova was exciting and he spent all day hobnobbing with celebrities, but he, Niall, Liam and Zayn were near the bottom of the food chain here and their jobs were just as boring as the next guy, although Louis had been given a heads up that he was being considered for a position in the team that develops new talent and he was pretty excited about that.

When it hit six o’clock, the boys were out the door, ready to hit the town. The dress code at SuperNova was casual – no suit and tie, so they were always able to just go out straight from work.

They grabbed a bite to eat at their favourite little Indian place, having a beer or two and comparing notes on the week just gone. They all decided to stay at Louis’ flat that night, so they could share a cab and spend tomorrow playing FIFA. His was also the largest of the flats, with him earning the slightly larger pay packet and being much better at managing his money.

Niall gave directions to the cabbie later in the evening for the club. “Oh yeah, I know the place” answered the cab driver “bit of a wild joint that one!”

“Great!” exclaimed Niall enthusiastically “could do with a little wild tonight!”

“Are you sure about this place Niall?” asked Liam nervously “is it safe do you think?”

“No worries!” dismissed Niall “my mate Dermott told me it was awesome. Best night he’s ever had!”

“Really Liam, how bad could it be?” asked Louis.

“Well, we’re about to find out!” answered Zayn, pointing to the neon sign saying “The Chinese Laundry” they’d stopped in front of. They jumped out onto the sidewalk and stood looking at the club. The entrance was down some stairs and the line was moderately long, but it appeared to be OK.

“The Chinese Laundry - funny name for a club” commented Louis, eyebrows raised.

“Apparently” replied Niall “it used to be an actual Chinese Laundry many years ago and the club owners liked the idea of keeping the history alive or somethin’. Pretty cool, huh?”

They joined the line and it quickly progressed. They found themselves inside in no time, surrounded by people and thumping music. The atmosphere was fantastic and the boys smiled as they looked around. The interior was decorated in a modern chinese style and the lighting was fantastic, with big chandeliers everywhere. They made their way over to the bar.

“Are we all down for tryin’ this Green Fairy Dust?” asked Niall.

“Absolutely!” grinned Louis.

“I’m in!” laughed Zayn.

Liam looked like he thought it was the worst idea in the world, but rolled his eyes and said “Oh bloody hell – I guess I’m in too then!”

Niall cheered, beckoning the bartender over.

“Is it true these things make you forget who you are?” Niall asked him.

“Looking to have a big night lads?” asked the bartender “these things have a bit of a kick, yes!”

“Oh yeah man” replied Niall excitedly “looking to have one hell of a night tonight!” The boys nodded in agreement and the bartender chuckled.

“OK then, I’ll make the special one – it’s got a little extra kick in it!” he winked as he walked away to mix the cocktails.

“Oh God Niall, what have you gotten us into?” complained Liam, already worried.

“Fuck Liam! I hope this drink makes you a little less uptight! You need to fucking live a little!” scolded Louis.

“I resent that Louis!” protested Liam “Just because I don’t want to write myself off on a drink containing absinthe – which can make you hallucinate by the way – doesn’t mean I’m uptight!” He looked to Niall and Zayn for support but Niall dropped his gaze to the floor and Zayn put a hand on his shoulder, shooting him a sympathetic look. “You kind of are a little uptight mate. But don’t worry, it’s one of the things I love about you – it’s what makes you you, if you know what I mean?”

Liam frowned “No Zayn, I don’t know what you mean! What you’re saying is that me being uptight is what defines me. What the fuck kind of thing to say is that? I thought we were friends?”

“We are friends Li – best friends! I didn’t mean anything by it, just forget I said anything.”

“Oh look!” interrupted Niall loudly “our drinks are here!”

“Thank God” muttered Louis under his breath “that was getting awkward.”

The boys each took a glass and raised it in a toast. “Here’s to Friday nights!” shouted Louis and they all took a sip.

“Ooooh!” cooed Louis “that’s niiiice!”   They all hummed in agreement, even Liam.

 

XXXXXX

 

Consciousness came to him in stages. Flashes of awareness that were too fleeting to grasp hold of, before he sank back into the abyss. He felt heavy, every limb weighing tons, unable to be lifted or moved. His brain was trying to push through the fog, trying to reach for something that kept eluding him. He knew there was discomfort, but it only registered briefly before he lost consciousness again, floating back and forth between awake and asleep.

It was the rush of water, soaking him, that brought him out of his stupor. He broke the surface of his lethargy to register that he was lying in the garden outside his block of flats, no shirt, no shoes, just jeans. The water he’d felt was Mr Bhatnagar, the caretaker, who was hosing him with the garden hose, peering at him like he was some sort of mutant. He murmured a protest at being hosed down with cold water on what was a brisk morning, especially after he’d obviously slept there, and Mr Bhatnagar turned off the hose.

“Oh thank the Gods Mr Louis! I thought you were dead!” he exclaimed as he reached down to help Louis stand up. Louis swayed as he tried to get his balance and had to quickly sit back down as he was swamped with an overwhelming nausea. His limbs were weak and shaky and his mouth was so dry he couldn’t even swallow. He asked Mr Bhatagar to give him a drink from the hose and guzzled mouthfuls of water, before promptly throwing up into the garden.

“Holy Shit Mr Louis! That must have been one heck of a night you had!” he said, his voice full of awe that Louis was still breathing.

“I guess so” mumbled Louis, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember any of it. He wondered where the lads were. If they made it home, why did they leave him in the garden? And why couldn’t he remember anything of the night before after they’d arrived at the club? And where was his shirt? Fuck!

He panicked as he looked down at his naked torso, thinking he’d lost his keys, wallet and phone, but upon searching his pockets, found all were still with him. Mr Bhatnagar helped him to stand up and walk inside. He called the lift while holding Louis upright against the wall, then walked him into the doors as they opened, pushing the number four for Louis’ floor and continuing to hold him upright, Louis leaning heavily on him, thanking him for helping him get up to the flat and feeling incredibly embarrassed at the state he was in.

He pulled out his keys and assured Mr Bhatnagar he was able to see himself inside, so the caretaker bid him farewell, jumping back in the lift to return to his gardening.

Louis leaned against the doorframe as he inserted the key in the lock. He felt shaky and weak and he was a little unsettled that he woke up half naked in the garden, not being able to remember what the hell happened the night before. It was actually a little scary and he felt his heart rate increase, wondering if the boys were all OK.

He pushed open his front door and stopped in his tracks as he was met with the last thing he expected to see. The very last thing. If he had to list the very last thing he expected to see when he entered his flat, dancing elephants in tutus would rate higher than this.

Liam and Zayn were naked. Fully naked. Lying on the hardwood floor, and wrapped around each other. Like, tangled up, limbs entwined, Zayn’s thigh between Liam’s legs and their arms around each other. Their faces were inches apart and Zayn’s hand was firmly on Liam’s arse. Their cocks may or may not have been touching - Louis didn’t care to look any closer. He also couldn’t _stop_ looking, because WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Louis just stood there, front door wide open, staring at the mess of limbs that was his two best mates, his STRAIGHT best mates, trying to understand what the hell had happened in his world. He briefly wonders if this is one of those things like happens in the movies – where he’s woken up in an alternate universe and remembers nothing. Only he remembers everything about his life – until last night.

He closes the door and shakes his head, trying to make some sense of the nonsensical. He walks past the passed out figures and into the kitchen, stumbling to the sink, chugging three glasses of sink water in quick succession, this time able to keep them down. He took two painkillers and wandered into the other bedrooms, looking for Niall. He quickly worked out that Niall hadn’t been here either. He pulled out his phone to try and call him to make sure he was OK, although he probably just went home. He may also have gotten lucky – who knows? Louis didn’t. He didn’t have a fucking clue apparently. It rang and rang before going to message bank and he left a message for Niall to call him and let him know he was OK as soon as he was up and about. Hanging up the phone, he stalked into his bedroom and fell onto the bed, immediately falling into a deep sleep.

XXXX

When Louis woke again, it was sudden, sitting bolt upright in the bed as a scream filled the silence of the flat. Another voice screaming quickly joined the first and Louis ran out to the lounge room to find his two best mates standing there naked, facing each other and screaming like they’d just seen a ghost.

 _OK_ , thought Louis, _obviously they were as shocked as I was!_

“Whoah, guys, Calm down, calm down!” he yelled. Liam was looking down at his naked body now, wimpering as he tried to work out what the hell had happened. He kept looking from his body to Zayn, to the empty bottle of lube on the floor with a horrified look on his face. He started pacing and immediately stopped as he realised his bottom hurt – Louis recognised the telltale signs – and froze, looking down at the floor. “Oh my God!” he breathed out “Oh my fucking God! Holy Shit What the fuck is going on here!” he cried as his eyes welled up with tears. He looked up at Zayn with a crazed look in his eye.

“Did you fuck me? Did we fuck?” he yelled at Zayn.

Zayn looked back at him, wide eyed with shock. “I don’t know” he whispered, clearly terrified of Liam in this state. “I, I, I think maybe?” he added quietly, shrugging helplessly.

Liam started pacing again now. “Oh my God, Oh my God, I fucked a boy! What the fuck Zayn?”

“Look” interrupted Louis in as soothing a voice as possible “I think we just need to calm down and put some clothes on – then we can talk OK? I can’t remember anything about last night – I actually woke up in the garden outside with no shirt or shoes on and Niall didn’t come home with us and he’s not answering his phone, so we need to try and piece together what we can.”

“Holy shit Lou!” Zayn exclaimed “are you OK?”

“Do you think Niall’s OK?” added Liam, forgetting his own troubles for the moment, his face showing his concern.

“I honestly don’t know” answered Louis “but we need to keep trying his mobile and maybe call round to his place once we’re dressed.”

Zayn looked over at Liam, who seemed unwilling to look at him and said quietly “why don’t you go and have a hot shower Li – it will make you feel better.”

“There’s plenty of extra clothes belonging to both of you in the spare bedroom cupboard” added Louis.

Liam nodded, eyes still on the ground and limped off to the bathroom.

When he’d left the room, Louis walked over to Zayn and hugged him, ignoring his nakedness and understanding that he badly needed a hug at that moment. Zayn slumped into his arms, letting out a large sigh. “Fuck Lou! What have I done?”

Louis had long suspected that Zayn was at least a little bi-curious and he had also suspected that his main reason for this was an attraction to Liam, but he’d never said anything to either of them.

“Are you really freaked out about sleeping with a guy Zayn?”

“Not really, I guess. I mean, it’s not like it has never crossed my mind. It’s just, I don’t even know how it happened, and obviously Liam isn’t OK with it! I just hope I didn’t do anything to make him hate me you know? I’d be devastated if this ruined our friendship – he’s my best mate. What am I gonna do Lou?” his voice broke as he looked up at Louis, his eyes desperate and sad and Louis felt so sad for him as the tears started to fall and he began to sob into Louis’ shoulder.

He cried for what seemed like forever, Louis holding him tightly, until they heard Liam clearing his throat behind them. They looked up and Liam stared at Zayn blankly for a long moment before saying softly “shower’s free” and turning to walk into the kitchen and put the kettle on. Zayn silently walked into the bathroom.

Louis shuffled through to the kitchen. Liam was busying himself concentrating heavily on making tea for the three of them.

“Liam” Louis began, but was quickly cut off by Liam.

“I don’t want to talk about, OK Lou? I’m not ready to talk about it.” His tone made it clear that was the end of the discussion, so Louis pulled out his phone to try calling Niall again.

As he opened his phone, the video player flashed up and he noticed that he had obviously taken some video last night, as there was some new files added.

“What’s this?” he murmured, opening the first file.

“What’s what?” asked Liam, coming up beside him to peer over his shoulder.

“I’ve got some videos on my phone taken last night – at least I think they were, they weren’t here yesterday.”

The opening frame popped up with a smiling stranger’s face on it. The stranger was beautiful, with brown curls and green eyes and a cheeky smile. Louis’ eyebrows arched up at the sight of him.

“Who’s that?” asked Liam.

“I have no idea” answered Louis, “Let’s find out shall we?” and he pressed play and the stranger came to life. He was obviously completely wasted but he knew who Louis was, because the first word out of his mouth was Louis’ name.

“Louiiiiiiis!” he said at the camera, smiling a big dopey grin, complete with dimples. “Hiiiiii! I’m living in your phone now, so I guess that means you’re taking me home! Get it? You’re taking me home on your phone!” he laughed hysterically at what he obviously thought was a hilarious joke. It seems Louis agreed, because he could hear himself giggling from behind the camera.

“Wish I could take _you_ home” slurred the boy then. “Want you to come home with me Louis and I’d love you so good.” He smiled fondly at the camera again and Louis’ heart did a giant flip flop, his stomach jumping into his throat. God this boy was incredibly cute.

The boy then started singing into the camera.

_Come home with meeeee_

_Not just for tonight_

_But maybe for life_

_We’ll seeeeee…._

_Come home with meeee….._

The boy spread his arms out while singing the last line with extra gusto and obviously fell off the stool he was sitting on and fell backward onto the floor, laughing his head off. That was where the video ended.

Louis looked up at Liam, eyes wide and Liam was mirroring the look back at him. “Holy Shit Lou! What was that?”

“I have absolutely no clue!” answered Louis “But he was fucking gorgeous! I wonder if the rest of the videos were of him?”

“Videos were of who?” asked Zayn as he entered the kitchen. Liam immediately went back to making the tea, pretending to be so absorbed in it that he was unable to look at Zayn.

“I’ve just found some videos on my phone of last night and the first one is of some fit boy telling me he wanted to take me home” giggled Louis. “It obviously didn’t happen – what a shame!”

He replayed the first video for Zayn, his stomach swooping again as he watched the boy on the screen. He marvelled again at how gorgeous the boy was and how his words had made Louis’ heart skip a beat. Who was he? Louis was dying to know. He’d also like to know how it was possible for him _not_ to wake up in that boy’s bed after that!

“Well” said Louis “I must have been wasted out of mind if I passed that up!”

“I agree” answered Zayn “he was well fit mate!”

The sound of one of the tea cups crashing to the ground interrupted the conversation.

“Sorry” mumbled Liam “clumsy this morning.” He proceeded to clean it up and Zayn rushed over to help him.

“I’m fine Zayn!” he lashed out harshly and Zayn immediately backed away. Louis sighed. It was going to take some work to overcome the damage last night had wrought. Speaking of which, he needed to try Niall again. He closed the videos to be looked at later – right now they needed to find out what had happened to Niall.

He dialled the number again and got no answer.

“Nothing” he said to the boys “we’d better get over to his place and see if he’s there.” They all had keys to each other’s flats, so they’d be able to let themselves in. “He’s probably sleeping it off – if I know Niall, he probably drank way more than all of us – and look at how fucked up we were!”

Zayn and Liam didn’t respond to that, both looking at the ground for a moment before moving to grab their keys, wallets and phones.

XXXXXX

There was no answer to the knock on Niall’s door, so Louis pulled out his keys and opened it, strolling into Niall’s flat. It was in its usual messy state, so they couldn’t tell if he’d been here. They walked through to the only bedroom there was, expecting to find Niall curled up under the covers. It was quickly apparent, however, that Niall hadn’t been home.

“OK now I’m worried” said Liam.

“Well, let’s not panic just yet” commanded Louis “he could have got lucky and we don’t remember – after all you two got lucky and didn’t remember so…” his comment was met with silence.

“Too soon?” he asked, holding back a grin.

“Yes” Liam glared at him “you’re an arsehole Louis!”

Zayn looked at him pleadingly “not helping mate!”

Louis threw his hands up, exasperated at his friends. “Well what do you want me to do? Neither of you are even broaching the elephant in the room – what are you going to do? Pretend it never happened?”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do” said Liam softly before Zayn had a chance to answer. “As far as I’m concerned this never happened and we’re never discussing it again, understood? I’ll get us a cab.” With that, he stalked out the front door and down the stairwell.

Louis looked across at Zayn, who looked like kicked puppy. “I’m so sorry mate, I thought just jumping in there would make you talk about it. I had no idea he’d react that badly.”

Zayn sighed. “It’s OK mate. I guess that makes it clear how he feels doesn’t it?”

They locked the flat back up and followed Liam out to catch a cab.

XXXXXXX

By midday, the boys were really worried and wondering if they should call the police, when the front door of Louis’ flat flew open and Niall stood in the doorway. He was dressed in only his underpants and a high visibility vest – the kind workmen wore when doing road works at night. He face was covered in blood and he had cuts and bruises all over his torso.

“Oh thank God, Niall!” Liam exclaimed and the boys fell on him, all talking at once and hugging him.

“What the fuck man – we were so worried! What happened to you?” asked Louis.

“I don’t know exactly” answered Niall “but I know I woke up in a strange apartment, next to a hot girl – at least I’m pretty sure she was hot. The next thing I know, I’m getting the shit beat out of me and I managed to make a run for it out her bedroom window. It was two stories up and I landed in some bushes. I started running but I must have passed out because I woke up in some alley in only my underpants. Some garbage men found me and gave me this vest and then they brought me here.” He limped over and sat on the lounge. “Oh Shit! I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck! I left my wallet and phone and everything there – at least I think I must have, I don’t remember anything of last night. What the hell happened lads?”

Zayn and Liam looked at each other, quickly glancing anywhere else and maintaining an uncomfortable silence.

“None of us have a clue Niall” Louis answered “nobody can remember anything!” He wasn’t about to tell him about Liam and Zayn after what had happened at Niall’s flat.

“Jesus! What was in those fucking drinks?” breathed Niall.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Had to rush this to get it out, so it may have needed better proofing (please forgive my errors!)
> 
> Thanks for the comments on Chapter One - they keep me going! 
> 
> Also Huge Love to everyone who has read and commented on my other fics - we writers only write in the hope that someone will read and enjoy our stories, so when I hear you enjoying them I get all mooshy inside!
> 
> A note to those asking for Part 2 of Escape to Paradise - it isn't far away!

“Ouch! That shit hurts like a motherfucker!” complained Niall, as Louis dabbed Iodine on his cuts and gashes.

“Hush Niall, they need to be cleaned. Stop being such a bloody princess!” he kept dabbing the cotton wool soaked in solution over the cuts and Niall continued to hiss and complain.

“Do you know who the guy was that did this?” Liam asked.

“No Liam” answered Niall, rolling his eyes “I was a bit preoccupied trying to scramble out of the fucking window to stop and have a chat! I’m guessing it was a boyfriend or husband, I don’t know!”

“Bloody Hell Niall! You really know how to pick ‘em” said Zayn.

“Zayn” answered Niall defensively “I was completely fucked up last night – we all were! I don’t remember a fucking thing! I can’t be held responsible for decisions I made in that state!”

At his words, the air suddenly changed, becoming thick with tension and Niall looked from Zayn to Liam in confusion. “What did I say?” he asked.

Both boys spoke then, talking over the top of each other, each looking at the ground.

“Nothing!” said Liam defensively.

“Don’t know what you mean” muttered Zayn.

Niall’s eyebrows rose into his hairline as he replied “Okaaaaaay, forget I said anything!” He looked at Louis, who shook his head and rolled his eyes as if to say don’t ask!

“Well what about this boy on your phone Louis? What’s that about?” he asked, thinking that changing the subject may be a good idea.

“Your guess is as good as mine mate!” Louis replied “I have to watch the rest of the videos, there looks to be about four in total, but I have absolutely no clue who he is! He’s fucking fit though – I wouldn’t mind knowing who he is!” he added.

When Louis had finished, they made a fresh round of tea and decided to watch the rest of the videos to see if there was any clues as to what went on the night before. Louis plugged his phone into his laptop and downloaded the files, so they could watch them on a bigger screen.

He replayed the first video, unable to stop smiling like an idiot as the curly haired boy began to sing. He really was adorable! Niall snorted and let out a little chuckle at his antics, nudging his shoulder into Louis’. There was nothing else in the video besides the boy, so no new clues there as to what went on. They loaded the second video and again, the boy’s face appeared on screen.

He began babbling away at Louis, telling him random knock-knock jokes and laughing hysterically at them. He was incredibly endearing and Louis found himself grinning at the screen as he watched this boy with the dimples get more and more ridiculous. At the end of the video, Niall came into view, dancing behind the boy on a table, no shirt on, with a brown haired girl in his arms.

“That’s me!” said Niall.

“No shit Sherlock” said Louis “Where’s your shirt?”

Niall giggled. “I have no fucking idea mate!”

The girl jumped down from the table and as they watched, Niall lost his footing, crashing down onto the table and causing glasses to smash and fall to the floor, as well as knocking over chairs. He disappeared under the rubble only to jump up from beneath the mess a moment later, arms in the air and cheering. The surrounding crowd began to cheer with him, including Louis and the curly haired boy, who turned to face the camera again and said “Niall is awesome!” and grinning from ear to ear.

“Well I like him already!” laughed Niall. “I think that’s her” he added “it looks like the girl from this morning!”

“So you met her at Chinese Laundry then, and cute fit boy called you by name so he must have met you” said Louis “but no sign of Liam and Zayn.”

Zayn and Liam were still studiously avoiding each other’s eyes.

The third video began with the curly haired boy leaning in close to the camera, his green eyes alight with mischief.

“Lou” he stage whispered “I need to tell you a secret! Don’t tell anyone!” He leaned his face even closer, so only his mouth and cheeks were in the frame. Close up, his dimples looked huge and his full pink lips made Louis’ mouth water. His mouth was obscene. “I like you!” he drawled, laughing at his own words, before adding “like, I like-like you! Shhhhh!” he put his finger over his lips. “ Don’t tell anyone! It’s a secret!” He then cackled hysterically. This boy was ridiculous. And beautiful. And Louis wanted to find him right now and find out if that mouth was as indecent as it looked.

“Aaawwww” teased Niall “he like-likes you, Lou!”

“Fuck off Niall!” Louis answered, but he was biting back a grin. “Why was I even filming him? This makes absolutely no sense, but it’s entertaining!”

All of a sudden, the camera swerved to the corner of the room, Louis’ voice shouting “What the fuck!” from behind the camera as Liam and Zayn came into view. They were in the corner of the club, seated on a large armchair, with a high back and big arms. Liam was sitting in Zayn’s lap, hands cradling his cheeks and they were kissing. Well, trying to devour each other would be a more accurate term.

The boys had all gone silent at this new piece of footage and all four of them stared at the screen in shock – most particularly Niall, who had not been told what had happened between them yet.

The video ended abruptly there and Niall broke the silence. “Well, that’s….unexpected! It does however, explain the weird vibe you lot have been giving off all morning though, so…”

Zayn looked at his feet, then across at Liam, who was staring at the frozen screen, face blank as he digested what he’d just witnessed. He seemed to shake himself before speaking quickly.

“Uh, I uh, have some things I need to do” he announced, grabbing his things and heading for the door like a man possessed. “I’ll check back in with you guys later ok?” The door slammed behind him and the silence was deafening.

Nobody spoke for a moment, both Niall and Louis watching to see what Zayn’s reaction would be. He stood looking at where Liam had just exited before recovering and grabbing his things. “I’ve got to head out too lads, I’ll call you later yeah?” He ducked out the door, closing it behind him.

XXXXXX

He caught Liam just before he got to the road to hail a cab.

“Li wait!” he called as he jogged to catch up to Liam.

“Zayn, I just need to be alone right now, just please leave me alone OK?” he begged.

“Are we really not going to even talk about this?” asked Zayn incredulously.

Liam looked at the ground, before taking a deep breath and turning to look at Zayn with tears forming in his eyes. “No! Not right now. I promise to talk to you at some point, but right now I am sore, confused, and upset! I’m completely freaked out Zayn! How can you not be? How are you so calm?”

“I’m calm” Zayn bit out “because you’re my best friend and I have always worked on the assumption that we’d be able to get through anything together! This blindsided me too Liam but if it had to happen, I’m thinking that at least it was you! Is it really so awful to you that we slept together? Am I really that repulsive to you? Would you rather it had been some random stranger that cared nothing for you? So you explored a side of you that you didn’t know existed – so what? It’s not that big of a fucking deal Liam! Louis sleeps with blokes all the time and you aren’t offended by that – but idea that you did it is so disgusting to you? You’re such a hypocrite!”

“Don’t you fucking dare make me out to be a shallow bastard for feeling upset about this Zayn! I have nothing against being gay – or anything else - but I’m not gay! I’ve never been anything but straight - so yes, when I wake up with a sore arse from having your cock in it, I’m feeling a little distressed – like my whole world has been turned upside down! Like everything I knew about myself is wrong! That doesn’t mean I have a problem with homosexuality, or with you! It’s just that this has never even been something I’d considered, thought about – thought possible even – so how did this come about? Was it just the drink, or was it something more? I don’t even know what to think Zayn! I have so much I have to work through, so give me some fucking space to do it! Give me a chance to work out how I feel about it so I can talk to you and make sense – is that too much to ask?” His voice had been steadily rising, bordering on hysterical and Zayn stepped back from him, hands raised in a gesture of surrender.

“OK Li” he answered quietly “I understand and I won’t pressure you anymore. But I want you to know something before you leave.” He waited till Liam looked him the eye before continuing “I want you to know that I _have_ thought about what that would be like with you before last night. I _have_ looked at you and wondered if the strange mix of emotions I felt was more than just the strong bond of friendship we had. And I _have_ wanted to kiss you, just to see what you taste like. My _only_ regret about what happened last night, is not being able to remember what happened, or what it felt like because I’ve so often wondered about it.”

He turned and strode off up the street without saying another word, leaving Liam gaping after him.

 

XXXXX

 

Niall looked at Louis after Zayn had left the flat. “Holy Shit Lou! I have to say I didn’t see that coming! What a shocker! Last night was a train wreck. I don’t know what the fuck is going on!”

Louis sagged back into the lounge. “Me either Niall, this whole experience has been crazy! I mean, I wake up in the garden outside half naked, come up here and find those two naked and lying on the lounge room floor and then you turn up with the shit beat out of you and nobody knows what the fuck happened! On top of that, I meet the most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen and I don’t even fucking remember! It’s a fucking disaster!”

“Let’s watch the last video” decided Niall “it may give us something else to go on.”

“OK” agreed Louis “but it seems like they’re mostly just drunken rambling.”

“Yeah” laughed Niall “he’s cute though isn’t he? You sure seemed to know each other pretty intimately – it’s weird you don’t remember anything.”

“Sure is” agreed Louis.

They started the last video. It appeared that Louis was now seated on the boy’s lap and filming very close up. “Marry me Lou!” the boy blurted out suddenly, to which Louis enthusiastically replied “OK, yeah!” The smile that lit up the boy’s face was so glorious Louis wanted to pause the video and just stare at it.

“Really? Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yeah Curly!” replied Louis “Totally sure – the fireworks never lie!”

The boy threw back his head and laughed with unadulterated joy and the video ended there.

Niall looked over at Louis, who had frozen in his spot, staring at the screen with wide eyes.

“What’s the matter mate – you look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

“Feels kind of like I did” murmured Louis. He had been shocked to hear his Nan’s words falling from his lips and he wasn’t sure what that meant, but he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought that he had somehow let something important slip through his fingers.

 

XXXXXXX

Niall and Louis decided to head over to Niall’s place and grab some gear for him to stay at Louis’ place. His ID with his address had been left at the girl’s place and he didn’t want any visits from the guy that beat him up, so he decided to hide out at Louis’ until they knew more about what had happened.

They also decided they’d visit the Chinese Laundry after that and see if anyone recognised them and could tell them anything about what had happened, or at least tell them what was in their drinks.

As they walked up the flight of stairs to Niall’s floor, they saw a girl with long brown hair, sitting on the floor outside his door and Louis immediately recognised her as the girl from the video. She was stunning and Niall had obviously recognised her too, as he slowed down, staring at her with wide eyes.

She looked up and scrambled to her feet as she recognised them.

“Niall, thank God you’re alright! I’ve been so worried!” She ran over and threw her arms around Niall’s neck. Niall looked completely shell shocked.

“Uh, uh, I, I I’m OK, yeah.” He stuttered out.

“I can’t believe Andrew broke into my apartment like that! I threatened to call the police after he laid into you, you know – he took off then, fucking coward!”

The girl was tutting and checking out all his wounds and then she looked sideways and threw out an offhanded “hey Louis!” the continued checking Niall over.

Louis and Niall simply looked at each other with wide eyes. She then sensed something wasn’t right and looked from one boy to another.

“What’s wrong?   What’s going on?” she asked nervously.

“Oh. Uh. Well, you see….” Niall was struggling to find the words to explain what was going on, so Louis just dived right in and helped him out.

“What he’s trying to say is, love, that we really have very little clue who you are – don’t even know your name to be honest. Thanks to something weird happening after drinking those Green Fairy Dust cocktails, we have little to no recollection of what turned out to be a night from hell for all of us and we’re just trying to put the pieces together and see if we can work out what the fuck happened to us. Now all Niall here knows is that he woke up in your bed and then had the shit beat out of him. Which was a bit fucking traumatic to say the least. What he doesn’t know is how he got into your bed and who it was that beat him up. We were kind of hoping you’d be able to fill in the blanks a bit.”

The girl looked horrified at this revelation and stepped back from Niall like she’d been burned.

“You don’t even remember my name?” she gasped “What the fuck Niall? Do you know what that makes me feel like?”

“Whoah, whoah” interrupted Niall “Listen…..uh” he looked at her expectantly and she realised he was asking for her name.

“Oh my God! It’s Barbara!” she yelled, clearly mortified.

“Right, Barbara” said Niall “now listen, I’m incredibly sorry about all of this. I realise how awful you must feel. If it’s any consolation at all, I think you’re absolutely gorgeous and I think I may be the luckiest bastard around for getting to take you home last night. I’d give anything if I could remember the evening but the horrible fact is that I can’t.” He then thought to add “also, I’d like to know who Andrew is – is he a husband, boyfriend? I think I should know who’d like to kill me and perhaps why – don’t you?” he said all of this with his a wounded, apologetic look on his face and anyone with eyes could see how genuinely sorry he was. It took a moment before Barbara sighed and decided to answer him.

“Well, as embarrassed as I am about this, I guess it’s a bit hard to be mad at you when you weren’t in full control of your faculties. Andrew is neither my boyfriend nor my husband, and I actually really resent the fact that you just assumed I was a cheating whore!” She continued on despite Niall’s sounds of protest. “We met last night at Chinese Laundry and yes, I knew you were pretty drunk, but I never imagined you wouldn’t remember me the next day, God! As we were leaving the club last night, we bumped into my ex-boyfriend, Andrew and he confronted us. You told him to go fuck himself, which was, well, kind of awesome really” she smiled shyly at him and Niall blushed and smiled softly back at her.

“He was really angry and he broke into my apartment early this morning, waking us and beating into you. You know the rest, I guess. When I finally got rid of him, I found your clothes with your wallet and phone and stuff. Your phone was out of battery, but your wallet had your license in it, with your address. I figured you’d head straight home, so I got myself over here as soon as I could. I’ve been sitting here for over an hour, tearing my hair out with worry!” She gave him a wry smile.

“Listen Barbara” said Niall “I’m really very sorry about all of this. You seem like the loveliest girl and I really hate that I’ve hurt your feelings. Maybe we could all go inside and I’ll make us a cuppa and we could talk about it some more?”

“Yeah” added Louis “if you don’t mind, I have some questions too.”

Barbara nodded. “Alright, I’ll try to help as much as I can.”

Niall’s smile was radiant. “I can’t thank you enough Barbara!”

As they went inside, Barbara turned to Louis. “I bet Harry has a sore head today too!” she laughed.

“Harry?” asked Louis.

“Yeah, your boyfriend – Harry.” She looked at him like he’d grown another head.

“My boyfriend?” answered Louis. “I don’t…….oh. Did he have brown curly hair and green eyes?”

“Don’t know about the eyes, but the hair was brown and curly, yes. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“The guy from the videos!” said Niall excitedly “his name must be Harry, Lou!”

“Wait, what videos?” asked Barbara “and are seriously telling me you don’t know who I’m talking about?”

“I woke up this morning to find videos on my phone of some fit bloke talking to me – like, I actually filmed this guy and he had curly brown hair and green eyes. I’d never seen him before in my life, but in the videos he was talking to me and……stuff” explained Louis.

“Talking to you?” snorted Niall “he was fair making gooey eyes and talking mushy at you!” he turned to Barbara “asked him to marry him and everything – _and_ Louis said yes!”

“Doesn’t surprise me!” replied Barbara “You two definitely gave off that been together forever vibe. I thought you were already married, to be honest!”

“Really?” asked Louis, surprised.

“Oh yeah” answered Barbara “you were all lovesick and only had eyes for each other, but there was also that thing where you finished each other’s sentences and stuff. Now that I know you just met, that is actually pretty weird!”

“Huh” huffed out Louis. “Do you know anything else about him besides his name?”

“Nope, we just stopped to chat with you briefly, so I didn’t stop to get his life story. Sorry!”

“S’Okay” sighed Louis “just wish I could find him. He’s pretty gorgeous – seems a waste to let him disappear, you know?”

“Show her the videos!” said Niall “they’re so funny!”

They all watched the videos again and Louis was sure he would never get sick of watching them. In fact, he was pretty sure he couldn’t wait to watch them again tonight. When he was alone. And if that’s a little bit creepy, well too bad. This boy did things to him. Made him feel things.

His thoughts were interrupted by Niall’s voice.

“Lou, Barbara said she’d come over with us to Chinese Laundry and help us try to piece it together.” Niall looked ridiculously pleased about this and Barbara was blushing.

 _Huh_ , Louis thought. _Maybe something good would come out of this for one of them_.

XXXXXX

The gentleman that opened the door to them at Chinese Laundry was older than their bartender had been. He was also a lot less pleasant.

“We’re closed! What do you want?” he bit out.

“We want you to tell us what the fuck your bartender put in our drinks last night!” said Louis, trying to muster up his most menacing facial expression. Unfortunately, he was small, so looking threatening wasn’t his strong suit.

The Gentleman made to close the door but Barbara stuck her foot in and grabbed the man by the collar and well, Louis was a little bit impressed by that!

“Listen here dipshit!” she growled “You have a choice – you can talk to us, or you can talk to the police. I’ll give you three seconds to decide!”

“Alright, alright!” answered the guy “I don’t want no trouble love!” He opened the door to let them in.

“Good choice!” smiled Barbara, smiling sweetly as she walked past him inside.

Niall was grinning ear to ear and looking at Barbara like she was a rock star or something. “That was fucking impressive Barb!” he praised, bringing a blush to her cheek.

“Yeah” agreed Louis “although it was also a little scary.”

“Listen” said the guy who’d let them in. “I know what this is about and I don’t want no trouble, like I said. the owner said he had a bit of drama with this new guy, who’s been drugging the drinks, but he swore he wouldn’t do it no more, so the owner kept him on. He’s a pretty good lad, all told and he figured no harm had been done and it wasn’t gonna happen no more.”

“What do you mean drugging the drinks?” asked Louis.

“You know” said the guy “like Rohypnol and stuff. He said he only put a drop or two and it was funny to watch people lose their shit. But like I said, he swore it stopped.”

“What the fuck – are you telling me we were drugged with the date rape drug?” screamed Niall, advancing on the guy, ready to punch his lights out.

“Hey Hey now! Calm down lad – I don’t even know if it was him, or even if that’s what happened! I’m just saying that it has happened before.”

“For fuck’s sake!” exclaimed Louis. “You can explain that to the police you fucker!”

“You can’t prove anything!” the guy said quickly “it’ll be out of your system by now, so it’s only your word against mine. I swear to you I'll tell the owner and I'm sure he'll fire him this time! He’ll never work here again!”

“C’mon Niall” said Louis, pulling Niall toward the front door “he’s right, we can’t prove anything.”

“I’m still gonna report you!” yelled Niall as they opened the door and exited onto the street.

XXXXXXXX

Now that Niall knew Andrew didn’t have his details, he decided to go home. He offered to make dinner for Barbara to make up for not remembering her name and she agreed, so they bid Louis farewell and he went back to his place alone.

He was exhausted. What a twenty four hours it had been! He ran himself a bath and made yet another cup of tea – his fourth for the day. He hadn’t eaten much, but then wasn’t really hungry. He sank back into the warm water with a sigh. It eased his tired muscles and the warmth seeped into his bones. His mind wandered back to Harry. At least he had a name now – Harry. The name suited him, Louis thought. His mind’s eye conjured up the image of the charming boy with the green eyes and he couldn’t help but smile fondly at the memory of the videos. He had been completely enchanted with Harry. Everything about him was adorable and Louis wanted so badly to see him in person. Well, see him in person _, again_.

He was deeply disconcerted by what Barbara had said about them seeming like they’d been together for a long time, and also by the way he had so casually thrown around his Nan’s words about fireworks. Did that mean he finally felt it? If so, it was incredibly disappointing that he’d not been able to remember it. Of course, it could have been the drugs. In fact, it was most likely the drugs, but he still couldn’t get Harry out of his mind.

When he returned to the bedroom, he slipped naked between the sheets and pulled his laptop over to replay the videos. He didn’t even try to pretend he wasn’t going to wank to them. It was inevitable, really.

XXXXXXX

Across town, Harry had been having a very bad day. He had woken in his own bed. Good. He’d not brought home a random guy - which considering he had no recollection of the night before, was definitely good. He had no recollection of the night before. At all. Bad. What the hell was that? He doesn’t think he drank enough for a black out, so what the fuck happened? And why did he wake in a naked sweat, dreaming of piercing blue eyes that crinkled when they smiled?

He felt nauseous and shaky and clammy and he felt like there was something just sitting on the edge of his consciousness – something important, but he couldn’t make it out, no matter how hard he tried. He lazed around all day, speaking to Ed on the phone and eating salted crackers.

“I’m telling you man, it’s so weird! I can’t remember a thing – not one single moment of it after we had those drinks.”

“Me neither mate” replied Ed “although I did wake up at Taylors house, so it’s all good!” he chuckled.

“I just feel like I’m missing something really important, you know” replied Harry.

“You are mate” answered Ed “about twelve hours of your life! Hahahahaha.”

Harry laughed “yeah I guess that’s it! I’ll see you tomorrow mate.”

Harry hung up the phone and decided to have an early night. If he kept picturing those same blue eyes in his dreams, well he just chalks it up to his overactive imagination.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the wait is over - the boys will finally meet again this chapter! 
> 
> For those who are interested, there is actually a nightclub in Sydney called Chinese Laundry and it's a great night out! I stole the name, but the interior is only my imagination!
> 
> Thanks again for reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is for Tamara! xx

“Zaaaayn!” whined Louis “It’s been two months, why can’t I stop thinking about him?”

It was a Friday afternoon and Zayn was sitting in Louis’ office, feet up on the desk, and neither were getting any of the work done that they were supposed to.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here” answered Zayn with a sarcastic drawl “and say that it’s maybe because you never deleted the videos of this kid, and you watch them every day. And obsess over them. And probably wank over them – don’t deny it – and that you’ve maybe built this thing up to be more than it was ever meant to be. I mean, you don’t even know the guy, Louis. He could be an arsehole in real life, or a serial killer.”

Louis snorted at that “I reject both of those theories – he’s much too adorable to be either!”

“You need to delete the videos and move on” continued Zayn. “Sometimes it’s better to just let it go.”

“What, like you and Liam are letting it go?” Louis mocked him.

“Lou” he growled threateningly.

“No Zayn” Louis interrupted, leaning across the desk “let’s talk about how you and Liam are letting this go! Because all I know is that things are goddam awkward every time you two are in the same room together! You tip toe around each other, desperate not to say the wrong thing. You could cut through the sexual tension in the room with a knife when you’re anywhere even remotely close to each other. We’re all fucking uncomfortable as shit and nobody is saying a word about it! So this is me telling you that if you think you’ve moved on – you’re dreaming! This whole situation is awkward as hell and something needs to give!”

Zayn’s shoulders slumped and he let out the sigh of a man exhausted, resigned to his fate. “What do you want me to do Louis? Liam made up his mind – he wanted to put it behind us, pretend it never happened. Let’s face it – it may as well have never happened – we can’t even remember it! I have to respect his decision, that’s what best mates do!”

“But you don’t even act like best mates anymore Zayn! You go through the motions like nothing’s changed, but everything has changed! You didn’t just laugh it off, put it behind you and go back to how you were! You’re in this awful space in between now and it’s just painful to watch!”

“I know” Zayn answered quietly, tears forming in his eyes “but what can I do Lou? Of course it’ll never be the same again for me! I’ve realised that I’m totally fucking in love with him! But I’m stuck, because I can’t have him as my lover and I can’t _not_ have him in my life, so I have to try and make it work. I have to try and keep this friendship from self-destructing, because I can’t live without him Louis, I just can’t.” The tears were trickling down his cheeks now and Louis rounded his desk in an instant to throw his arms around his friend. He hated so much to see him in pain, but it was one of those times when there really was nothing that he could do to help. It was just a tragic set of circumstances really.

Zayn pulled back, wiping his eyes aggressively and taking a deep breath. He was a person that hated others to see him weak or vulnerable, so Louis went back to his chair, giving him a moment to collect himself.

“I’m sorry for the outburst” Louis apologised quietly. “It’s just hard to watch you two so uncomfortable with each other.”

“It’s OK, I’m sorry we’re making things so awkward. I’m hoping it’ll improve soon. I just have to keep trying to make things like they used to be, so he feels comfortable again.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you’ll be back to your old selves in no time!” Louis tried for enthusiastic tone, but feel a little flat. Truth be told, he suspected there was little Zayn could do that would make Liam go back to the comfortable closeness they had before.

“Anyway” Zayn continued “back to your boy – you need to delete the videos Louis. It’s not healthy to obsess over someone like this. Do it today – say goodbye and move on.”

“You’re right” Louis sighed “it’s just, well, I keep getting this feeling like we were meant to meet, you know?”

“You’ve probably just convinced yourself of that because you’re attracted to him!” teased Zayn.

“Yeah, probably” replied Louis, but deep down in his bones, he knew that it was different. He didn’t know how to tell Zayn he felt like there was a sense of fate or destiny about his meeting this boy, like he was somehow meant to find him. He knew it would sound like he’d lost the plot, so he kept quiet.

Zayn stood and made his way to the door, but turned with his hand on the door handle. “I’m going for a quick smoke – remember what I said – delete the videos Lou! You can’t pass up the chance of meeting someone real because you’re all attached to a fantasy!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do it today” agreed Louis, knowing there was nothing that could make him part with the images of the curly haired boy who invaded his dreams every night.

XXXX

Louis tried to put Harry out of his mind and concentrate on the work he needed to get done by the end of the day. He was checking all of the additional clauses to the contract for a new act they’d signed, when his boss, Alex, knocked on his door.

He popped his head in and smiled. “Good you’re here! Have you got a minute?”

“Yeah, sure! Come on in” answered Louis.

“Just wanted to touch base regarding our discussions over the past few months. I wanted to know if you’re still interested in joining the team overseeing talent development?”

“Are you kidding?” answered Louis, grinning “that’d be amazing Alex!”

“Great!” laughed Alex “love the enthusiasm! We are really happy with the guys you suggested off YouTube a few months ago, Five Seconds of Summer? Really great response from the team on that and looks like we’re going to offer a contract.”

“Oh wow! That’s awesome!” Louis replied.

“Yeah, Simon was impressed at your talent scouting and decided you’re in the wrong area! I’ll get you to meet with him this afternoon in his office at around three o’clock? He had some people auditioning this afternoon and thought you could tag along and give an opinion.”

“Bloody brilliant!” exclaimed Louis “I’ll be there!”

Alex left, congratulating him as he walked out and Louis immediately went in search of his friends to share the news! He was so excited, this was an incredible opportunity. Simon Cowell was one of the co-owners of SuperNova and Louis couldn’t believe he’d requested Louis’ addition to the development team!

When he entered Niall’s office, Liam was already there, going over some marketing material, making changes and corrections.

“You guys are not going to believe it when I tell you what just happened!” he sat down in the empty chair next to Liam. “I’ve just been promoted to the development team! Simon fucking Cowell himself asked for me!”

“Oh Louis! That’s awesome man! Congratulations!” said Liam.

“Yeah, Lou, that’s fucking brilliant mate!” agreed Niall “that’s so perfect for you – you’re a natura at that stuff!”

“Yeah, apparently they liked 5SOS and they’re going to offer the boys a contract. That’s what made Simon notice me! I can’t even believe it!”

“Believe what?” asked Zayn, who had just popped his head in the door.

Louis saw Liam immediately tense, but he quickly relaxed his posture as he replied “Louis’ got a promotion to the development team!” he smiled at Zayn. It wasn’t a comfortable smile and it didn’t reach his eyes, but he was trying and that was a start.

Zayn smiled softly back at him before turning to Louis. “That’s great Lou! Congratulations! We should all go for dinner and celebrate, yeah?” He was determinedly not looking at Liam when he said this.

Niall and Liam agreed and Louis left them after agreeing to meet back up at his office at six o’clock to go for dinner.

XXXX

At three o’clock on the dot, Louis found himself outside Simon Cowell’s office, feeling nervous but excited and eager to see what was in store for him. He knocked on the door and was greeted by Simon himself, as he opened the door, ushering Louis inside.

“Ah Tomlinson! Come in. Good to see you know how to be punctual. I hear you are pleased to be joining the development team?”

“Absolutely sir” replied Louis “I’m thrilled at the opportunity. I’m so passionate about new talent and I love music, so this is my dream job, really!”

“Good to hear! And please call me Simon - sir makes me feel old!  Well, we’re going to jump straight into things this afternoon.   We have a bunch of talent coming in to audition for us, laying down a track or two each, and we’ll see if we like any of them enough to see them again. Sound good?”

“Sounds fantastic!” laughed Louis.

“Right then, let’s get downstairs to the studio and we’ll get you introduced to the rest of the team.”

Simon led the way downstairs to the part of the building Louis hadn’t been to before. He was keen to meet his new colleagues and to see what the studios looked like. They entered the downstairs are and it was a lot less sleek than the rest of the building. It had a large waiting area filled with armchairs, coffee tables and even some large beanbags. It was relaxed and inviting and probably meant to put people at ease while they waited to audition or record. There was a kitchenette area, with tea and coffee and a fridge. As they entered the main studio area, there was a girl sitting at the small desk.

“Good afternoon Eleanor” Simon greeted her “this is Louis Tomlinson – he just joined the development team, so you’ll probably be seeing quite a bit of him in the coming months.”

Eleanor smiled widely at him “Hi Louis, great to meet you.” She batted her eyelids at him, obviously flirting and Louis looked away quickly. _Don’t waste your time sweetheart_ , he thought, _sooo not your prince charming – too busy looking for my own!_

He then followed Simon into the rooms beyond, where three other people were milling around, chatting and laughing. They all turned when he and Simon walked in and looked at Simon expectantly.

“Everybody, this is Louis Tomlinson, the new addition to our team that I mentioned this morning. Louis, this is Cara, James and Nick. Just get to know each other for a few minutes while I get Eleanor sorted with the audition list.” He strode back out the door without another word.

Cara grinned at Louis, walking straight over to grasp him in a tight hug and OK. Not exactly what he was expecting.

“Hey there Louis!” she giggled “nice to have you on board. You’re gonna love it here – so much fun!” She was an excitable happy little thing and Louis found himself grinning back at her.

“Um, thanks, great to be here!”

The guy named Jamie was also really friendly, shaking his hand and welcoming him, but Nick was standoffish, looking him up and down in a manner that could only be described as bitchy.

“So you’re Simon’s new pet huh?” he asked.

“Nick” warned Jamie “be nice.”

Nick shrugged as he murmured “Let’s see how long this one lasts shall we?”

“Hey what’s your fucking problem mate? You don’t even know me!” Louis replied angrily.

“His problem” Cara answered “is that he’s a fucking arsehole! Don’t take any notice of him. Nick sees everyone as competition. It’s nothing personal.”

“It is to me” answered Louis, shooting Nick a glare.

Jamie let out a laugh “you’ll do alright Louis! You don’t take any shit – I like that mate!” He clapped a hand on Louis’ shoulder, just as Simon re-entered the room.

“Right, well, we have a couple out there already arrived and the other two should be here any minute, so how about we get started? Louis, you can sit here with me if you like” he announced, indicating the seat to his left. Nick rolled his eyes and Cara took the seat next to Louis as he sat down.

Simon gave each of them a pen and a clipboard to make notes before calling on the first act. A tiny little girl walked into the room. She looked about the same age as his sister, Lottie, and she was smiling shyly at them, looking very nervous. Louis gave her a smile of encouragement, nodding to her as she walked over to the microphone.

“Hello there Miss Aplin” greeted Simon warmly “it’s nice to see you again! As I told you, we just wanted to hear one of your songs and then I’ll get you to wait outside until we’ve seen everyone and we’ll let you know if we’d like you to record something in the sound booth OK?”

The girl nodded and smiled, before putting her guitar strap on. Simon indicated with a wave of his hand that she should start whenever she was ready and she took a calming breathe before launching into a sweet, melodic tune. Her voice was haunting and beautiful and the song was lovely. Louis enjoyed it and made lots of notes on her voice, as well as her target market. He definitely though they should see what she sounded like in the booth.

She left the room, thanking them for watching, and Simon called in the next act. The guy that walked in was covered in tattoos and piercings and had one side of his head shaved, the other dyed bright red. He was a little scary if Louis was being honest. He was OK, but not brilliant and Louis didn’t go much on his style of music. He didn’t make many notes and he noticed that nobody else did either.

The third act was downright awful and Louis was glad when it ended to be honest. It was a trio and he wasn’t sure where they had come from, but he wanted them to return there as quickly as possible and never come back. As they left the room, Simon leaned forward in his chair to glance at Nick, who shrugged.

“They sounded better on their tape, I swear!” he argued, but Simon just raised an eyebrow and he sat back in his chair, letting out a sigh “OK yes, they were bloody dreadful!” They all giggled a bit at that, especially Louis.

The last act was Cara’s find. “Oooh he’s so lovely!” she cooed “his voice is like honey and he’s bloody gorgeous as well!”

Louis was internally rolling his eyes, suspecting his looks were the reason Cara had given him an audition, when the guy wandered into the room and OK. What?

Louis’ heart started hammering in his chest and he thought perhaps he may be having an actual heart attack. He leaned forward in his chair, staring at the boy who had just walked in.

At Harry.

Harry had just walked in.

Louis didn’t know what to do with himself. He was literally having some sort of internal meltdown. He was fidgeting in his seat and every cell in his body was on fire. He wanted to scream and shout and yell at everybody that this was him! This was the boy he’d been dreaming about and watching every day for the last two months. Instead, he had to sit there as the boy, who obviously had no clue who he was, walked over toward them.

Louis couldn’t breathe and started actually making embarrassing choking sounds, trying to catch his breath. Simon looked at him, raising his eyebrows in silent question. Louis nodded back at him and tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he’s sure it looked more like a grimace. The others were looking at him now too. He had to pull himself together. First day on the job – he definitely could not freak out, he reminded himself.

The boy walked up to the mike stand and smiled at them - yep, there were the dimples and Oh my God, he may just come in his pants! _Calm the fuck down Lou_ , he told himself.

“Hi” said the boy “M’Harry”

 _I know!_ thought Louis _I fucking know that! You’re on my fucking phone! You asked me to marry you!_

“I thought I’d sing a song I wrote a while ago, as it’s still one of my favourites” he drawled in his smooth low voice and it made Louis’ insides turn liquid.

He started strumming on his guitar and when he began to sing, Louis felt his whole body respond. Harry had an amazing voice. Louis didn’t make any notes on his clipboard, he just sat frozen, staring at Harry as he closed his eyes and sang with such emotion. He was mesmerising. Louis barely registered when Harry stopped singing, but when Harry looked up and caught his eye, his breath hitched. Harry took off his guitar and walked over toward the group. He approached Simon first and shook his hand, thanking him for asking him to audition. He then came to stand in front of Louis and Louis thought he was going to faint any minute, he was having trouble taking a breath. Harry looked at him and tilted his head to the side, considering him strangely. His eyes narrowed at Louis, like there was a moment of recognition, then he seemed to shake himself and smiled at Louis, holding out his hand.

“Thanks so much for the opportunity mate” he said.

Louis just nodded. He could not for the life of him make his mouth function. It felt like it was full of cotton wool. Harry shot him one more very weird look before he moved on to Cara, James and Nick, shaking hands and thanking them profusely for having him in to audition.

After Harry had left the room, Simon gathered them into a circle to compare notes. Louis could barely concentrate as he thought about the boy standing just on the other side of the door. He needed to get Harry alone for a moment, needed to speak with him.

Then he realised that he had no idea what he would actually say to Harry. He didn’t think going with “Oh hey, remember when we were completely wasted and you asked me to marry you? Well, funny story….” would be the right approach. There was no actual precedent for this conversation that he knew of – it was kind of a unique situation.

He tried to pull himself back into the conversation and give his thoughts. He didn’t want to make a bad impression on his first day, so he gave his opinion on Gabriella Aplin and some thoughts on her target market. He stayed largely quiet for the discussion of the next two acts, everyone agreeing they weren’t what they were looking for. Then Simon moved onto Harry.

“And young Mr Styles?” he looked up to the group at large.

“I thought he was amazing!” Louis blurted out.

“Well that was pretty obvious already” snickered Nick “but what did you think of his singing?”

The other two chuckled and Louis thought he might actually hate Nick a little bit. He ignored them and turned to Simon. “So we’re clear – I think his _voice_ is amazing.” He gave Nick a pointed look and continued speaking to Simon. “He’s got lovely tone and his song writing is pretty good. He also has that likeability factor, as well as a great look. He’s a great overall package without needing much work, in terms of marketability.”

Simon considered his words and nodded. “I agree, he has that something extra we’re looking for and he seems comfortable performing. I think we’ll have Mr Styles and Miss Aplin stay on and record something in the sound booth. Agreed?”

Everybody nodded and Simon went out to give them the good news. When he’d left the room, Nick sauntered over to Louis. “Way to be cool Tomlinson – I thought you were going to drool all over Simon when that boy walked in! I guess that answered my question about your sexuality.”

Yep, Louis did not like Nick at all.

“Shut up Nick!” spat Cara “I saw you salivating just as hard when Harry walked in, so I wouldn’t be one to talk if I were you!”

And what? Oh no, no, no, no. Not in a million years would Louis ever let that be a thing! Nick wasn’t allowed to drool over Harry – he belonged to Louis. Well actually, truth be told, he didn’t even know who Louis was, but that was beside the point! In Louis’ mind Harry was already his.

Simon came back in. “Right, well let’s get these two into the studio! Nick, you and Jamie take Miss Aplin in and get her settled in the booth and Cara and Louis, you can discuss with Harry what he’d like to record – I’d like something a little more upbeat than the audition song, so get something sorted.

They walked back out to where the two were waiting and Nick and Jamie quickly disappeared with Gabriella. Simon excused himself, promising to return after the recording sessions.

Cara, Louis and Harry were left in the foyer area together and Louis looked at Harry to find he was staring at Louis with intensity now. He moved closer, putting his face right up to Louis, looking in his eyes as if he was trying to determine something. Louis was frozen on the spot under Harry’s scrutiny, not even breathing, and Cara was looking at Harry like he was a crazy person.

“Do I know you?” Harry asked suddenly. “Because I feel like I know you!”

Louis smiled then, eyes crinkling at the corners, and Harry’s breath hitched. “You!” he exclaimed, stepping back from Louis like he’d seen a ghost.

“Me?” asked Louis.

“Him?” said Cara “I’m confused – do you two know each other?”

Louis cleared his throat “actually we kind of do.”

“We do?” asked Harry.

“Wait, I thought you said you knew him Harry?” asked Cara “I honestly don’t know what’s going on here!”

“Cara” said Louis “would you mind if I borrow Harry for a moment? There’s something we need to discuss in private.”

Cara stared open mouthed at both of them before waving her hand dismissively at them both. “This is too weird! Do what you have to do – I have no fucking clue what’s going on here!”

“You and me both!” cried Harry, looking at Louis like he’d grown a second head.

“Harry, just come with me and I’ll explain everything” said Louis soothingly. “It’s actually a pretty funny story.” He opened the door to the audition room and ushered Harry inside, leaving Cara gaping after them, shaking her head. “Well that was the strangest fucking thing I’ve ever seen!” she murmured.

As they entered the room, Harry spoke first.

“Look mate, I have no idea who you are, but I have been seeing your eyes for weeks now!” He stopped when he realised how nutty that sounded. “Like, I know this sounds completely insane, but I’ve been dreaming about your actual eyes. Not ones that look like yours, but your _actual_ eyes! It’s been freaking me out and then I saw you here and I knew those were the eyes I’d been seeing in my head and this is just too fucking weird!”

He was rambling now and pacing and Louis couldn’t help but grin at him. He was as completely adorable in real life as he was on video and suddenly Louis felt awash with affection for him.

“Harry! Stop! I can explain. You see, about a month ago, I went out with some mates to the Chinese Laundry”

“Hey, me too!” said Harry.

“I know Harry – that’s where we met.”

“What do you mean?  I don’t remember meeting you! I think I’d remember meeting you to be honest – you’re pretty fucking fit!”

Louis grinned as he continued. I didn’t remember meeting you either. Apparently some low life was drugging the drinks with Rohypnol and it made us black out. I don’t know if that’s what happened to you, but my friends and I couldn’t remember anything of that night.”

“Oh my God! My friend Ed and I couldn’t remember anything either! Shit! We were drugged?”

“It appears so, yeah. Anyway, I was checking my phone the next day and I came across some videos. They were videos I had taken of you, talking to me. It was obvious we’d met because you were calling me by name, but I didn’t know who you were and someone else we met that night told me your name was Harry, but it wasn’t much to go on, so…I guessed that was the end of it. I had hoped to find you though, so when you walked in today, I nearly fell of my chair!” he laughed.

“Jesus!” replied Harry “what an incredible story! So, you have videos of me? On your phone?” he asked.

“Yep” said Louis. “They’re pretty cute actually – you sing to me! You even asked me to marry you in the last one!” he giggled.

Harry’s eyes widened and he looked shocked and a little bashful. “I did? Shit I’d better have a look at these bloody videos. Do you still have them?” he asked.

Louis blushed a bit as he replied “Uh, yeah, yeah. Kind of kept them to watch sometimes. Like I said – they’re pretty cute.”

Harry smiled at him and he thought he felt his heart stop beating for a second before it stuttered back to life. He smiled back at Harry, just as Cara shoved her head in through the door.

“If you two have finished your weird, non-reunion, we need to head into the booth now.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, no problem” answered Louis. “We’ll chat again after your recording yeah?” he asked Harry.

Harry nodded and grinned, showing the dimples again that had become so familiar to Louis. “That’s a great idea.”

XXXX


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys! Next Chapter - hope you enjoy it :) x
> 
> No posts for a couple of days as my man has complained about being neglected in favour of gay smut - so I think he needs some loving tomorrow! Hahahaha - my life!
> 
> Almost finished the sequel for Escape to Paradise, so should be up Friday Night or so...
> 
> Thanks again for the kudos and comments - they are such a thrill!
> 
> Love to you all xxxxxx

Throughout the recording session, Louis had not taken his eyes off Harry, still unable to comprehend that he was actually here in the flesh, and he continued to glance up at him every few minutes as they walked to his office. In the lift, he and Harry had just stared at each other for a few moments before breaking into a fit of the giggles.

“This is so surreal!” Louis blurted out. “I can’t believe you’re actually here! I feel like I already know you and yet I don’t, you know?”

“I know – it’s so weird!” replied Harry, still chuckling. “I feel like I know you too, even though I didn’t know whose eyes they were!” he shook his head “That doesn’t even make sense!”

Back in Louis’ office, he took out his phone and they sat in chairs side by side to watch the videos one by one. Louis very studiously avoided looking at Harry while they were playing, but smiled at the familiar Harry on the screen. Harry watched quietly, occasionally making whiney, embarrassed noises as he watched his own behaviour on film.

“Oh My God!” he exclaimed when the last one ended. “How mortifying! I’m so embarrassed! I can’t believe I was that ridiculous!”

Louis laughed as he replied “I thought you were incredibly sweet! Attested to by the fact that I kept the videos for so long!” He blushed as he added “I may have watched them more than was strictly required.”

“Yeah?” Harry smiled a goofy lopsided grin at him, dimples and all, and he knew he was in trouble already.

“Yeah” he answered “like, pretty much every day. I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch some really fit guy saying he _like-liked_ them!” he laughed.

Harry groaned and put his face in his hands “this is humiliating! I was totally embarrassing! I swear I’m not like that in real life!”

“You were totally wasted, so cut yourself some slack, OK? And I have to confess I’d be a bit disappointed to know you weren’t at least a _little_ bit like that in real life. I’ve built all my fantasies about you around these videos, curly and it’d be a shame if they weren’t at least a little accurate!” And OK, he just blabbed to Harry that he’d been fantasising about him - Louis really needed to employ that brain to mouth filter he has – what the fuck was he doing?

Harry looked back at him with a small shy smile. “Oh, well in that case, I’d better warn you that I actually am a little bit like that – especially when I drink.” He giggled, eyes alight, and that’s when Louis felt it.

Fireworks.

The tight feeling he’d had in his chest since Harry walked into the audition room exploded, sending shards of sensation out to every extremity. He literally felt a burning tingle travelling through his veins, underneath his skin and setting every nerve on fire as it went.

His face blanked out as all the air left his lungs and Harry looked at him, concerned. “You alright mate?” he asked.

Louis shook himself. _Get it together man!_ he thought. “Uh yeah, sure, just, it’s weird, you know?” he tried for a casual laugh but thinks it sounded more like a strangled Hyena.

“Definitely weird, yeah. But….good weird?” it came out as a question as he replied bashfully.

Louis smiled softly back at him. “Yeah definitely good.”

They say staring at each other, the moment heavy with tension and Louis’ eyes dropped to Harry’s lips as he chewed nervously on his bottom lip.

“Would it make things impossibly awkward if I told you that I’d really like to kiss you right now?” asked Louis.

Harry stopped chewing his lip and smiled. “I think we’re way past awkward now aren’t we? I mean, I already proposed so…”

Louis giggled and leaned forward to touch his lips to Harry’s and Holy Shit! Yep, Fireworks and laser lights and Oh my God! His body was thrumming with it. He pulled back a little, but Harry slipped a hand around the back of his neck and pulled him back in and Oh yeah, Louis was OK with that!

The kiss turned intense, Harry licking his way past Louis’ lips and into his mouth. Louis brought his hands up to cup Harry’s cheeks and marvelled at the soft full lips on his.   It was technically their first kiss, and yet there was a familiarity present, like they’d done this many times before.

The moment was interrupted by the opening of Louis’ office door, Niall, Liam and Zayn strolling in, laughing and talking. Their chatter ceased immediately as their eyes fell on the two boys, eyes flying wide as they recognised Harry. They all started speaking at once.

“Holy Shit! You found him!”

“Is that….”

“Harry? Oh My God! What the hell?”

Harry gaped at these strangers that obviously knew him. He had no clue who they were and it was so strange. Everything about this day had been strange.

“Alright, calm down!” laughed Louis. He then proceeded to explain to the boys how Harry had come to be in his office.

“Whoah, that’s amazing!” exclaimed Niall.

“Yeah Lou” added Zayn “like, what were the chances of that happening?”

They all stood looking at Harry and Louis thoughtfully for a moment before Niall asked “So what now?”

Louis looked over at Harry, who shrugged, not knowing what to say.

Louis was thinking _well I don’t know about you but I’d like to shag your brains out for about five hours, then marry you and pick out baby names_ , but he figured that may be a bit much, so he said “Well, for a start, how about you join us for dinner – we were just going out to celebrate my promotion!”

Harry’s smile could’ve put the sun to shame and Louis felt faint as the full force of it was directed at him. “That’d be brilliant! Can I invite my mate Ed? He was there that night too and I know he’ll have a shitfit when I tell him what happened.”

“Yeah sure” replied Louis.

 

XXXX

 

They found a booth vacant at the back in their favourite pub, just down the road from work. Harry and Louis jumped in first, next to each other. Zayn slid into the opposite side and looked up to see Liam swallowing nervously, hesitating about sliding in next to him. Niall tried to crowd him from behind, ushering him into the booth, but Liam was backing away.

“Uh, you go ahead Niall, I just need to use the loo” he said and took off for the toilets.

The boys looked from Liam to Zayn, who sighed and slumped in his seat as Niall slid in next to him. Nobody was saying a word and Harry was looking confused.

After a moment of silence, Zayn got a steely, determined look on his face.

“Let me out Niall!” he barked as he slid toward the end of the bench seat. Niall stood up immediately without a word, letting him slide out of the booth.

“Zayn” said Louis gently “do you really think this is a good time?”

“Of course not Louis, but when is it ever going to be?” with that he marched off after Liam.

 

XXXX

 

Liam was standing at the sink, splashing water on his face and trying to regain his breathing. He’d had a massive panic attack when faced with the idea of being squished into that seat with Zayn.   He’d been fighting an ever losing battle with his attraction to Zayn ever since the morning after the club. It had now reached epic proportions and he just didn’t know what to do with it. He wasn’t ready to commit to the idea that he wanted to shag his best friend – who was a bloke. It was all still so confusing! He was pretty sure he wasn’t gay - when he looked at other guys, he felt no attraction to any of them – none! Yet when Zayn looked at him with those large brown eyes, he felt every cell in his body react. He was close to popping a boner every time Zayn came near him lately – that’s why he panicked at the thought of being pressed up against him in that booth. He had no idea what he was going to do. He knew he was hurting Zayn by pulling away and he hated that he did that, but he didn’t know what else to do. He didn’t know what to do with his feelings.

The door to the bathroom crashed open, revealing a very angry Zayn. He stalked over to Liam.

“What the fuck Liam?” he yelled. “I’m trying here. I’m trying to put this behind us. I’m trying so hard to make things the way they used to be, to respect your feelings, and you won’t even fucking sit next to me at the fucking table? Are you that disgusted at the thought that we shagged? So fucking turned off that you can’t bear to be near me? How are we supposed to move on if you won’t accept what happened?” He was livid, but underneath the anger, Liam could see the hurt and the pain and he felt his heart contract in his chest. “What’s next Li? Do we stop being friends altogether? Because we’re well on our way to destroying this friendship!”

“No!” exclaimed Liam “no Zayn, that’s not what I want!”

“Then what do you want Li?” he screamed, hands forming fists of frustration at his sides.

“I don’t know!” Liam cried out “that’s the problem here Zayn – I don’t fucking know! My head is all over the place! I’m having feelings I can’t understand and I can’t think straight when you’re anywhere near me! I can’t eat, I’m barely sleeping, I just………” he sighed before adding softly “I’m not disgusted at the thought of what we did. I can’t stop thinking about it, about you.”

Zayn stood frozen, looking stunned, trying to process what Liam had just said. When he didn’t answer, Liam found the words just tumbling from his mouth.

“I feel…..like, attracted to you. I get a fucking boner if you come too close and I just think about kissing you all the fucking time! And I don’t know what that means Zayn, because I’m not attracted to other guys – never have been. And I don’t want to explore it because I don’t want our friendship to change, to end. So yes, I’ve been avoiding you a bit, but it’ll be better in the long run, because if we went there and it was a disaster, I wouldn’t survive losing your friendship.”

Zayn was quiet as he absorbed everything Liam had said. He then looked up at Liam, face clearly showing his misery and said “Liam, don’t you see? It’s already changed our friendship.” He then added “do you know I’ve never even looked at another guy before you? Was just never my thing. I was never dead against going there, just never found anyone I was attracted to – until you. I don’t know what the answer is either, but ignoring our attraction won’t stop the friendship from self-destructing. We need to deal with it one way or another.”

He walked over to Liam and stopped about a foot in front of him. “I love you Liam. You’re my best friend in the world and I just want you to be happy. So tell me what you want and that’s what we’ll do, but we have to communicate or this is going to kill us.”

Liam stared at the ground and replied quietly “I know.” He remained quiet for a moment and Zayn started to turn, intending to walk away. As he did, Liam’s arm shot out to grab hold of his and stop him. He stopped and turned back to look at Liam, whose eyes were brimming with tears and his expression one of such sadness that he pulled Liam into his arms without thinking, wanting to comfort him. Liam went willingly, sinking against Zayn and hugging him back tightly. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick” he hiccupped.

Zayn let out a little chuckle “I forgive you – it’s been a tough few weeks for both of us!” Liam chuckled along with him and he felt a little of the misery lift. They were going to be OK.

 

XXXXXX

 

When they arrived back at the table together, nobody said a word about their abrupt departure, just easily included them in the current conversation, discussing Harry’s audition.

The hug they’d shared seemed to dissipate the tension they’d had about being in close proximity and they found themselves happy to be back in each other’s space again, sliding into the booth next to each other and sharing a few fond looks and soft touches. It felt like their old selves, with perhaps an added layer of intensity. Now that the floodgates were open, they found they couldn’t stop the touches, needing the closeness for comfort.

This didn’t go unnoticed by any of the lads, but nobody was game enough to draw attention to it. They were so pleased to see the boys getting on again.

Harry started asking Louis something about his job, but spotted his mate Ed out of the corner of his eye and called out to him, waving him over. The ginger haired boy waved back with a grin and made his way over to the table.

“Alright lads?” he smiled. “We’ve probably met before, by the sounds of it, but I’m Ed!”

Ed fit in with the group easily, chatting with all of the boys and the night flew by. Louis was surprised at the easy way Harry and Ed just clicked with their little group. Harry was everything he’d imagined and more. He was smart, funny and endearing as well as bloody nice to look at! Louis thinks that he might never get sick of looking at Harry’s face.

He and Harry were completely without boundaries from the start of the evening, stealing food from each other’s plates, trying each other’s drinks and just generally doing everything they could to occupy each other’s space. After a few beers, Harry started leaving his palm on Louis’ thigh under the table, seemingly unaware that he was even doing it. Louis was also seemingly unaware that he was running his fingers through Harry’s hair as he chatted with Liam. Harry was almost purring, eyes almost closed and leaning into Louis’ space. Zayn, Ed and Niall, however, noticed their interaction with a growing amusement. It was like they’d known each other for ages – not just met today.

Niall’s phone beeped and he pulled it out so quick he nearly dropped it on the floor. “That’ll be Barb” he said eagerly.

The boys smiled at him. Niall and Barb had been almost inseparable sinc the morning after the club. They were already talking about moving in together.

Niall read the text and smiled “well boys, I hate to love you and leave you..”

“No you don’t” they all echoed back at him.

“But I’m off – got a better offer!” he grinned.

“I’m off too I’m afraid – got an early shift tomorrow” he looked at Harry “we still on for the afternoon?”

“Yeah absolutely!” replied Harry “I can use all the practice I can get now that there’s a label interested in me!”

They all decided to call it a night then and as they walked out into the cool night air to head home, Louis felt an inexplicable urge not to let Harry go just yet.   He’d been dying to kiss him again after this afternoon. He reached out to grab Harry’s arm, so they fell a little behind the group, and Harry turned, looking at him with raised eyebrows. “Everything OK?’ he asked.

“Yeah, um, listen, I know we like only technically just met, but did you want to come back to my place for a cuppa? I hope that doesn’t sound too forward” he added quickly. ”I didn’t mean, well, you know. Just, it’s so great to have found you after everything and, I don’t know, I guess…”

“Louis” Harry interrupted with a fond grin, “take a breath! I’d love to come to your place – for a cuppa. Or anything else. M’not really ready to say goodnight either.”

“Oh” Louis cleared his throat “Oh. Well that’s. That’s. Great. Um. OK” Louis was tripping all over himself trying to form a sentence that made even the slightest sense after Harry had slipped in his comment about wanting to do _anything else_ with him. His mouth had gone dry and he was so tightly wound with desire. He’d had two months of fantasising about this boy and here he was in the flesh.

Harry was looking at him smugly, like he knew precisely what he was thinking and he was so turned on right now he could barely breathe.

“We’re off then!” he announced to the group at large in a loud voice and dragging Harry up the road by the hand. “Good night!”

Harry turned and waved with his other hand, saying goodnight and telling Ed he’d call him tomorrow. The boys watched them go and laughed, shaking their heads at their two friends.

“Harry never stood a chance!” chuckled Niall “Louis’ been obsessing over him for weeks!”

“Oh I think it’s the other way around” said Ed “Harry’s been driving himself crazy over those blue eyes!” he laughed.

Niall and Ed wished Zayn and Liam a good night and headed off in the direction of the taxi stand.

The two of them stood awkwardly for a moment, before Zayn started to say goodnight. Liam interrupted him.

“Fancy a super hero movie marathon at my place?” he asked “I’ve got popcorn.”

“Oh” replied Zayn, grinning from ear to ear “well, if there’s popcorn, how could I say no?”

Liam smiled back at him and they started on the short walk to Liam’s place.

 

XXXXX

 

“How much farther is it?” asked Harry, moaning.

“Stop complaining Mr. Whiney! It’s just around the corner” Louis replied.

“It’s been a long day Lou! I started at the bakery at 5am, then I had to rush all the way across town for my audition, then I met you! It’s been stressful and emotional and awesome all at once.” He smiled.

“You really are an amazing singer, you know” said Louis. “I know Simon liked you. I don’t think you’ll be working at that bakery much longer Harry.”

“Thanks Louis. It means a lot that you like my music. Singing is it for me – it’s all I want to do, you know?”

He kept talking then, telling Louis about his writing and singing and how much he loved it. His eyes were ablaze as he spoke about his love for music and Louis was captivated, unable to take his eyes off him. He just glowed, and like a moth to a flame, Louis was drawn in.

When they arrived back at Louis’ place, he was mentally cursing that he hadn’t cleaned his flat better this morning. He grabbed them both a beer from the fridge, throwing his cereal bowl from the morning into the sink.

“Uh, apologies that the place isn’t cleaner – wasn’t exactly expecting company, so..”

“No problem, doesn’t worry me” said Harry, but Louis could tell that it probably did - when he’d come back into the lounge room from the kitchen, Harry had been tidying up the coffee table and straightening the cushions.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” asked Louis, not really sure what to do with Harry now he had him here. I mean, he knew what he _wanted_ to do with him, but jumping someone the minute you get them inside is probably a bit much!

“Not unless you do” Harry replied.

“No, no that’s fine” said Louis, standing awkwardly beside Harry and looking around the room. When he looked back at Harry, he was smirking at him.

“You can kiss me if you want” he said to Louis in a soft voice, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Louis took a moment to just take that in before he launched himself at Harry. Just before he pressed his lips to Harry’s, he murmured “Oh I definitely want.”

Harry chuckled softly into the kiss and Louis slid his hands into his curls, pulling just the tiniest bit. Harry let out a small moan and deepened the kiss. It very quickly descended from there into a more heated exchange, mouths hot and eager.

Louis slid his thigh between Harry’s, grazing his half hard length and eliciting a groan of pleasure from him. Harry pulled back, gasping, eyes glazed over and pupils blown. “Lou, can we take this to your room where it’s more comfortable?”

Louis wasn’t in a much better state. His mouth was slack, his breathing was heavy and he was rock hard in his pants.

“Yeah, of course” he answered, walking backward down the hallway, kissing Harry as he went, pulling him along. When he entered the bedroom, he didn’t bother turning on the light, just backed over to the bed, pulling Harry down with him as he fell onto the bed.

They fell on something hard, which turned out to be his laptop and Oh! Shit! Louis had a split second of recognition, but not enough time to react. The screen lit up and there was Harry’s face frozen on the screen.

“Hey it’s me!” laughed Harry, reaching across to the laptop. As he did, something toppled off the keyboard onto Harry’s arm and Louis let out a groan as Harry picked it up.

“Is this what I think it is?” smiled Harry.

“Yes Harry” Louis bit out, wishing the ground would swallow him whole “it’s a dildo.” He covered his face with his hands as Harry looked from the dildo to the computer, grin growing wider.

“Did you get off to my video Lou?” he asked, voice dropping lower, husky as he thought about what Louis had been doing.

Louis still had his face covered with his hands, but replied “Yes.” He removed his hands then, looking ashamed. “I forgot that was still out from this morning. Is it too weird? Because I can assure you, it only started happening after I’d been watching them for a while, like, I swear I’m not some stalker weirdo or anythi…..”

Harry cut him off by taking his mouth in a hot possessive kiss. It only took a moment for Louis to respond, throwing his arms around Harry’s neck. When they pulled apart, Harry was panting as he said “Shit Lou! I can’t believe how hot that is. Love that you were getting off to me. That you were thinking of me with that in your arse.” He dove back in and reclaimed Louis’ mouth, all tongue and no finesse, both too turned on to care.

Louis threw out an arm and pushed his laptop off the bed. Harry also (reluctantly) threw the dildo onto the bedside table, but not before making a comment that it would be put to good use at a later date.

He pulled Louis’ shirt over his head and then sat up to remove his own, before running his hands down Louis’ chest, stopping at his waistband, hands on his buttons. “Okay?” he asked.

Louis simply nodded and made grabby hands at the buttons on Harry’s jeans. They were naked in no time, rutting against each other and gasping. Harry was biting and sucking at Louis’ neck and Louis’ insides were turning liquid. He was moaning loudly and every time their cocks rubbed together, he felt a spark of pleasure shoot through his body.

Harry worked his way down Louis’ body, leaving a trail of fire in his wake, until he hovered above Louis’ bulging shaft. Louis could feel Harry’s breath on his cock and it seemed like an eternity Harry waited before slowly licking a stripe up the length of him and into the slit. Louis’ groan was filthy.

“You’re gorgeous Louis” Harry breathed over his head as he took him down, using his tongue firmly as he pulled back up.

Louis gripped the sheets on either side of him and let out a choked gasp at the heaven that was Harry’s mouth. Harry increased his pace, using his hand to stroke the base and twisting just the right way to send pleasure skittering across his nerve endings. He took Louis down till he was touching the back of his throat and Louis’ eyes rolled back in his head.

“Harry, holy fuck, I’m not going to last!”

Harry didn’t let up, keeping his pace and reaching down to place a finger at Louis’ entrance, gently applying the slightest pressure, and before long Louis was letting out a strangled cry and spilling into his mouth. Harry sucked until he’d swallowed it all and Louis pulled him up, kissing him and loving the taste of himself on Harry’s tongue.

He looked up into Harry’s smiling face. Harry’s eyes heavy with desire and he was gasping for breath and Louis thought he’d never seen anything more beautiful than this man in front of him.

He flipped them so he was on top of Harry and greedily got his mouth on Harry as quickly as possible. He couldn’t wait to taste him, take him into his mouth. He had barely begun and harry was writhing, head whipping side to side as he moaned and whimpered. He was so responsive and Louis loved it. He groaned around Harry’s shaft, enjoying every moment. He continued with that pace, letting saliva run down the shaft to his fingers, which he then moved back to Harry’s entrance, slowly pushing one finger in. Harry let out a cry, thrusting his hips forward, Louis taking his cock nearly all the way to the back of his throat. He thrust his finger in and out, matching the rhythm of his mouth and in a short time Harry was shouting out a warning.

“Lou, fuck Lou, m’gonna come!” he gasped.

Louis sucked the slightest bit harder, crooking his finger and stroking it over Harry’s prostate, sending him over the edge and shooting into Louis’ mouth with his name falling from his lips.

They curled up together afterward, neither wanting to break the silence. Louis was so content. He hadn’t felt this sated, this blissful in as long as he could remember. When he asked Harry to stay, Harry smiled at him and replied “try and stop me.”


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! Chapter 5 is here (Tamara!). Hope you like it :)
> 
> Please forgive any errors, I have done my best to proof.
> 
> Thanks for the comments and Kudos - they keep me motivated! Also, to all of you reading Escape to Paradise and sending me such love, you are all awesome!

“All I’m sayin’ Louis” argued Niall “is that you’ve undoubtedly had your mouth on Harry’s penis, and probably his arsehole by now, and yet you’re having one hell of a shitfit because I double dipped my chip in your salsa! Excuse me if I find that a bit hypocritical!”

Harry choked on his beer and Liam and Zayn burst out laughing.

“It’s about table manners Niall!” argued Louis. “It’s just not good manners to double dip!” He turned to the other boys “am I right lads?”

“Also” Louis continued “I’ll have you know that Harry’s penis and arsehole are both clean as a whistle.” Harry choked again, launching into a coughing fit as Louis continued. “It’s your mouth that concerns me Niall” Louis added “God knows where it’s been!”

“Hey!” laughed Barbara. “Right here!”

“No offense Barbara love” Louis smiled sweetly.

“Can we please change the subject?” Harry asked between coughs, as Niall patted him on the back repeatedly.

Louis smiled at him as he sat down on his lap with a plop and answered “what, you mean like the fact that you got signed today?”

Harry grinned from ear to ear “still can’t believe it!”

It had been exactly twenty days since the day of the audition and so much had happened, including Harry being offered a recording contract at SuperNova.

In addition, things between Louis and Harry had progressed quickly as well. After staying at Louis’ on that first night, Harry had spent most of the following nights there as well. It wasn’t something they’d consciously decided, it just kind of happened – they found they simply preferred being in each other’s company to being without. They seemed incapable of being separated for long periods of time. It was like they’d been together for much longer than twenty days and from the moment they met they just kept gravitating back to each other naturally, needing to be as close to the other as possible.

It was hard to explain, but they’d just accepted that it was the way things were and went with it. The other boys had started referring to them as “the husbands” because they were already like an old married couple.

Harry’s contract had been officially signed today so the boys, Ed and Barbara had all gathered at Louis’ place before heading out to celebrate.

“I was so excited when Simon told me!” answered Louis “do you realise how hard it was to keep it a secret by the way?”

“I’m surprised you managed it, to be honest” muttered Zayn, to which Louis responded with a withering look before turning back to Harry. “I still can’t believe he assigned Nick as your Co-Manager with Cara though! It should have been me – not that twat! He was totally checking you out at your audition you know!” Louis pouted.

Harry slid his arms around Louis’ waist “Oh Babe, are you jealous?” he smirked.

“Of that dickhead? Hardly!” Louis responded, but he snuggled tighter into Harry’s arms just the same.

Harry simply chuckled and kissed the top of his head, before asking “are we heading out soon? I’m ready for some dancing!”

 

XXX

 

Zayn came back from the bar with the tray of drinks to find everyone in the booth, except…. “where are the husbands?” he asked.

“Toilets” answered everyone together in a long suffering tone. Zayn rolled his eyes. “Those two are the horniest people on this earth!”

He started to hand around the drinks, when a gorgeous red headed girl approached the table. Her hair was long and lustrous and she was wearing a very low cut dress that left little to the imagination and she was looking at Zayn with a gleam in her eye as she said “Hi.”

Zayn did a double take and smiled at the gorgeous girl as he replied “Hi yourself.”

“I’m Bella” she smiled, batting her eyelids.

“I’m Zayn” he replied, giving her a charming smile in return “nice to meet you Bella.”

“I was wondering if you’d like to dance with me?” she asked.

He hesitated, glancing over at Liam, but Liam’s gaze was elsewhere. He ignored the gnawing disappointment he felt. Things with Liam were as close to normal as they could get under the circumstances and he should be grateful for that, but instead he feels like screaming with frustration at the unfairness of it all.   He supposed now was as good a time as any to try to start moving on, so he smiled at the sexy girl in front of him and answered “Why not?” before following Bella to the dance floor without looking back.

Louis and Harry tumbled back to the table soon after, looking dishevelled and more than a little pleased with themselves. Their giggly happiness was almost too much for Liam to take in his current state and he snapped at them.

“Can you two not keep it in your fucking pants for longer than five minutes?” he bit out.

The table fell quiet and Louis looked over at Liam and frowned. “What’s up your arse Li?”

Liam just got up from the table without a word and stalked over to the bar, sitting on a stool and signalling the bartender.

“What the hell was that about?” asked Louis and Niall, Barbara and Ed pointed to the dance floor, where Zayn was now grinding heavily with Bella.

“”Oh” mumbled Louis. “This is getting out of hand – I wish they’d just fuck already!”

“You and me both” replied Niall “I thought things were getting better!”

“Me too” sighed Louis.

 

XXX

 

Liam started by ordering several shots of tequila and downing them all in quick succession. His hand was shaking and he was trying hard to hold himself together.

 _What a bloody mess!_ He thought. He’d been kidding himself that he’d been winning the fight against his attraction to his best mate. It took just a single moment when the redhead had approached Zayn to bring all his carefully constructed walls tumbling down and a white hot jealous rage to overtake his body. He’d had to look away when she had asked him to dance, as he knew his face would betray him.  

He now sat with his back to the dance floor, not wanting to see them together, and let the warm fuzziness take over this body as the shots took effect.

“You look like someone trying to drink his way out of bad day” said a voice to his right. He turned to see a tall blond well-built guy leaning against the bar, a beer in his hand, smiling sympathetically.

Liam considered his words, then smiled and replied “that’s actually a pretty accurate statement, only it wasn’t bad until about ten minutes ago.”

“Ah, so maybe there’s a chance to salvage it!” the handsome blonde replied, smiling.

“Doubt it” answered Liam “it’s turned pretty wretched to be honest.” He toasted the guy and threw back another shot, wincing at the burning trail it left down his throat.

The tall blonde boy held out his hand to Liam. “I’m Jake” he said.

“Liam” answered Liam as he shook his hand.

“How about” said the guy, sitting on the stool next to Liam “I buy you a drink and you tell me all about it?”

Before Liam could answer, another voice spat out “how about you fuck off instead?”

Both Liam and Jake turned to see Zayn standing just behind them, eyes blazing and mouth set as he glared at Jake.

“Zayn! What the fuck?” exclaimed Liam. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Just making it clear to Thor here that he’d be better to look elsewhere for tonight’s entertainment” replied Zayn, not taking his eyes off Jake.

“Is he your boyfriend?” Jake asked Liam.

“No” replied Liam softly, his eyes meeting Zayn’s for the first time. Zayn looked as miserable as he felt and he felt a twist in his gut.

“Then I think you should just run along” Jake said to Zayn “because this is actually none of your business!”

Zayn ignored Jake and turned to Liam. “Can we talk? Just for a second?” he pleaded.

Liam glanced at Jake before nodding and excusing himself.

“Whatever man! This is too much drama for me” Jake said walking off.

Liam followed Zayn to a corridor in the corner of the club where the music was a little less loud and waited for Zayn to speak.

“What the hell are you doing Li?” he asked, his voice breaking.

“What do you mean?” answered Liam.

“I mean Liam, that you tell me we can’t give this a go between us because you aren’t gay, that you aren’t attracted to other guys and then you’re chatting up some fucking bloke at the bar?”

“I wasn’t chatting him up Zayn!” cried Liam “I went over there because I couldn’t bear to watch you and fucking redhead over there grinding all over each other on the dance floor. It was just too much! I wanted to scratch her fucking eyes out! Jake just happened to start chatting and asking if I was OK – that’s all! I wasn’t attracted to him at all. I was too busy being fucking miserable to be attracted to anyone!”

Zayn stared at him, dumbfounded. “You mean, you were jealous?”

“Of course I was fucking jealous!” exploded Liam, running a hand through his hair.

“Me too” answered Zayn softly. “Like, crazy jealous. I felt like I was coming unhinged when I saw him sit down next to you with that smile on his face.”

They stood looking at each other for a moment, then Liam launched himself at Zayn, kissing him for all he was worth. Zayn squeaked in surprise but recovered quickly to kiss him back with everything he’d had bottled up for the few months.

As they pulled apart, Liam stared at Zayn’s mouth in wonder. “Holy Shit!” he breathed.

“Yeah” Zayn panted, and pulled him back in.

 

XXX

 

Louis had made to stand up when he’d seen Zayn and Liam walk off together, but Harry had put a hand on his arm, stopping him.

“Give the some space. They need to work through this on their own.”

“What if they kill each other?” asked Louis, worried.

“Did you see the way they were looking at each other?” Harry answered. “They’re not going to kill each other! C’mon, let’s dance.” He pulled Louis onto the dance floor.

They were joined by Ed, Niall and Barbara and the five of them danced wildly, laughing and mucking about until they were thirsty and out of breath.

As they made their way off the dance floor, they were gobsmacked at the sight of Liam and Zayn making out heavily in the booth.

Harry snorted “see, told you!” and everyone giggled and then cheered as they approached the two, who had pulled apart and were looking sheepish, but blissfully happy.

“Thank God you got your shit together!” pronounced Niall “I was going to have to take matters into my own hands if this went on too much longer – now let’s get some drinks and toast the end of your stupidity!”

 

XXX

 

“Nooo!” groaned Louis when Harry told him he had to get out of bed for work on Monday morning. Harry didn’t have to be anywhere until eleven o’clock, when he was meeting with Nick and Cara at the SuperNova offices, but he knew Louis needed to be up if he was going to make work on time.

He sat next to Louis on the bed and made a nuisance of himself, poking him and yanking his hair, trying to get him to get up. When he got only grouchy mumbling in return, he tried a different tactic.

“Loooouuuuuiiiiiisssss!” he sing-songed. “I’m make you a deeeeaal – if you get up and into the shower right now I will join you and make it worth your whiiiile!”

A slight movement.

Louis then turned his head from facing into the pillow to face Harry. “I’m listening” he muttered grumpily.

“I’ll wash your hair” answered Harry.

“And?”

“I’ll wash your body.”

“And?”

Harry’s voice dropped as he replied softly “and I will push you up against the tiles while I sink to my knees and suck on your cock until you come undone.”

 

Silence.

 

“Race you!” cried Louis as he threw back the duvet and made a dash for the bathroom.

Harry threw his head back laughing as he yelled after him “knew that’d get you moving!”

He followed Louis into the bathroom to find him already under the streaming water and quickly stripped off to join him.

He wasted no time in crowding him against the tiles, kissing him lazily. Louis’ arms slid around his neck and he deepened the kiss, humming with pleasure. Harry’s mouth moved onto Louis’ neck and down his collarbone.

He slid to his knees, water running over his hair and back and looked up at Louis, who was looking back at him with a heavy lidded, heated look. Louis ran his fingers into Harry’s hair and guided him forward, where his length was standing to attention.

“Eager much?” harry smiled, before sticking out his tongue and licking a long filthy stripe up the underside of Louis’ cock. Louis hissed and gave his hips a slight thrust. He couldn’t wait to get Harry’s talented mouth on him. He had, in a very short space of time, become addicted to Harry’s mouth. Whether it was on his dick, his mouth or his arse, it was heaven and he couldn’t get enough. Harry was just as bad. He was insatiable, never getting enough of Louis, always wanting more. They had long since christened every surface of Louis’ flat and Louis spent most of his time in a haze of semi-arousal.

Harry affected him so intensely, making him feel like a pubescent teenager, but it was more than that. He was so completely, thoroughly, gone for the boy on his knees in front of him. It would be frightening if it didn’t feel so utterly right.

All other thought scattered as Harry slowly took him down, eyes never leaving Louis’. He languidly sucked as he pulled back up the shaft, cheeks hollowing and ran his tongue across the slit at the head. As he sank back down, Louis’ eyes closed of their own accord and felt like they were rolling back in his head. Harry continued at this leisurely pace until Louis thought he’d go mad. He thrust his hips forward involuntarily and Harry gagged a little before moving his hands to Louis’ arse cheeks, grabbing them and pulling his hips forward to take Louis further into his throat. Louis felt a wave of pure pleasure wash over him as Harry started a rhythm, letting know Louis know it was OK to fuck his mouth. Harry then removed his hands, put them behind his back and opened his jaw, looking up at Louis expectantly.

“Fuck” Louis breathed as he began slowly thrusting into Harry’s mouth. Harry’s eyes were red and watering but he never took them off Louis’ as he took him down. Louis quickened his pace, holding his hands on either side of Harry’s cheeks to steady himself. He rapidly felt a tingle in his balls, which spread up through his groin and stomach and exploded. He cried out as he climaxed, spilling into Harry’s mouth. Harry took it all, swallowing it down and then pulling off, out of breath. He had a hand on his rock hard shaft, trying to relieve the ache. He’d loved every second of that and he was so turned on - bulging and leaking pre-come.

Louis dropped down beside him and kissed him, tasting himself on Harry’s mouth. “Down on all fours” he ordered gruffly and Harry whimpered with arousal as he turned and went down on his hands and knees, leaning forward on his elbows. Louis parted his cheeks and looked at the pink, puckered hole, licking his lips. “You’re so perfect Haz” he said softly.

He leaned forward and licked at Harry's entrance, following with his lips and sucking at the hole, rubbing his tongue back and forth. Harry let out a whining moan as he pushed his tongue past the ring of muscle, thrusting it in and out. “Oh God Yes!” cried Harry.

Louis continued sucking at his hole, while reaching around and stroking his cock. Harry started panting heavily and groaning before he let out a guttural shout and shuddered through his climax.

Afterward, the two sat entwined under the running water, Louis laying back on Harry’s chest as he lazily washed him with the soap and wondering how he got this lucky.

 

XXX

 

Louis walked into work with a bounce in his step and a smile on his face.

“Do I even need to ask what that look on your face is all about?” asked Cara with a smile. “You’ve got morning sex written all over you!”

Louis laughed as he replied “Cara my love, a gentleman never tells.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “But since I’m no gentleman I will tell you that I did indeed have unbelievable morning sex!”

They both giggled as they walked up to the staff room to get their coffee. “I’m so happy for you Louis – at least one of us is getting laid these days!” Cara sighed.

“Still no luck with that girl from the marketing department?” Louis asked sympathetically.

“Nope” replied Cara “I just get all tongue tied and stupid whenever I get around her – it’s so embarrassing and so not like me!.”

Just then Nick joined them at the coffee machine.

“So Tomlinson” Nick slid up next to him, as usual, completely unconcerned with personal space “I hear on the grapevine you and the Styles kid are nigh on inseparable these days – that why you’ve been less bitchy than normal?” he smiled his fake arse smile and Louis had to resist the urge to wipe it off his face with the back of his hand.

“Grimshaw” he answered “I’d tell you to kiss my arse, but we both know you’d fall in love with it and then I’d never get rid of you, so a simple fuck off will have to suffice.” He smiled sweetly back at Nick as he sauntered off, leaving Nick snarling at his back and Cara letting out a snort as she followed Louis down the hallway.

“God you two really can’t stand each other can you?” she asked.

“He just rubs me the wrong way, you know?” replied Louis.

“He rubs everybody the wrong way” said Cara “he’s an arsehole.”

 

XXX

 

It had been decided that Harry would record some of the songs he’d already written and they’d choose one for a single and release it quickly. The marketing team had also told Simon they thought that a promotional junket around Britain, performing on local radio shows and TV, would be the best way to increase his profile quickly.

Simon subsequently ordered Harry into the studio, where he spent a few long days laying down some tracks for Simon to choose a single from. It all happened very quickly from there, which was how precisely seven days later, Harry set out on the road with Cara. And Nick.

“I can’t believe you’re going to be gone for two whole weeks!” whined Louis as he lay on Harry’s bed, watching him pack. He was leaving the next morning.

“I know Lou” replied Harry “but I need to up my exposure and Nick says this will be the best way. He’s actually really knowledgeable about all this stuff. He’s been a godsend this week.”

“Oh has he now? Since when have you and Fuckface become besties?” Louis replied snarkily.

“Lou! Don’t be like that. I know you two don’t get on but I have to work with Nick and he’s been really great to me. Just try to get on with him for my sake?”

“Tell him to stop being a complete twat and I will” answered Louis. “He’s the one who started it – he was so rude to me for no reason when I joined the team. Besides, I hate the thought of you being on the road with him for two weeks when he clearly fancies you.”

“He does not Louis! You’re just being paranoid! Anyway, Cara’s going to be there too. She’s helping me with Twitter and social media, so you’ll be able to track my every move – and I’ll call every night OK?”

“I guess” Louis replied quietly “just going to miss you.”

Harry flopped down beside him. “Going to miss you too Lou. But it’s only two weeks – it’ll fly by! Now help me get this packing finished and then I can show you how much I’m going to miss you, and you can give me a proper goodbye OK?”

Louis pulled himself up to straddle Harry’s lap. “Or you could finish packing later and I could fuck you senseless right now?” he asked, voice low.

“Much better idea!” grinned Harry, pulling him in for a kiss.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oooohhh you're all going to hate me! Sorry in advance OK? Just please trust me that all will work out in the end......
> 
> Sorry for the delay, but I was working on Escape to Paradise and got all immersed in that story and couldn't concentrate on this one, but we're back on schedule now!
> 
> Thanks for reading and again - no hate please!

He was used to being on his own – he’d been alone for a long time prior to Harry barging into his life and making himself at home. He’d known Harry for what? Five seconds? He was completely capable of going two weeks without Harry around thank you very much. He was an adult with a full life and a job he loved and great friends. He was not one of those whiney, clingy boys who couldn’t go a day without their boyfriend.

Only he was. He really, really was.

And he hated that he was – it made him bitchy and moody and altogether unpleasant to be around.

“God Lou” complained Liam “you’re so catty today!” They were sitting in Louis’ office at the end of the second day of Harry’s trip.

“Awww, are you missing Harry Louis?” Niall teased, clearly unaware that he was taking his life in his hands by making fun of what was clearly a very difficult time for Louis.

“Fuck off Niall” Louis answered flatly. Eloquence was not his strong suit when he was suffering. He preferred the direct approach of lashing out verbally and brooding.

OK, so maybe it had only been forty eight hours and maybe he was completely obsessing about the fact that Harry was spending every day and night with Nick, but he just missed him alright? He missed having him here - warm beside him in bed, cooking him meals and smiling at him like he hung the moon. OK, he may also be persuaded to admit that he missed the sex. A lot.   He was like a horny teenager already and he still had twelve days to get through. It was going to be a long two weeks getting by on the odd wank in the shower.

“I hear he’s really doing well” Zayn interjected “his single is getting some serious airplay and his twitter followers have exploded. He’s charming everybody apparently!”

Louis smiled softly as a wave of pride washed over him. He was so proud of Harry and so excited he was having such success. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy for him, he just didn’t like being apart. He tried not to think about what the success might bring with it. He knew, being in the industry, that travel was a big part of the job and he dreaded the thought of Harry being away so often. He also knew he couldn’t be selfish – this was Harry’s dream come true and he wouldn’t want to do anything that would lessen Harry’s enjoyment of his achievements. He also didn’t want to examine his feelings too closely, because he was very aware that a healthy dose of fear and insecurity lay in there.

He knew that deep down, he felt that Harry could do better than him and that nurtured the fear that Harry himself would realise that when he had other, more attractive options. If he became famous, people would be throwing themselves at Harry. People who were sexier, smarter and better people than Louis could ever hope to be. He felt a rush of jealousy and possessiveness course through his veins at the thought of Harry with anyone else and he pushed it back down, refusing to explore those feelings. He couldn’t sabotage his relationship with Harry by not being able to cope with other people wanting him. That would be ridiculous – who wouldn’t want Harry? He was the whole package.

“Lou” Liam warned “get out of your own head. I can hear the cogs turning from here!”

Louis sighed “I know. C’mon, let’s get out of this office and grab some dinner yeah?”

They all murmured their agreement and headed down to the local pub for some food and a couple of beers.

As they sat at dinner, Louis shot off a text to Harry. They’d not texted much, as Harry had been ridiculously busy, but he always answered when he got back to his room each evening.

 

**_6.45pm_ **

_Hey Babe! Not surprised to hear you’re smashing it up north! Heard your song on BBC Radio 1 today! So happy for you – keep up the great work! Miss you xxxxx_

 

He didn’t hear from Harry straight away, so he put his phone away and tried to enjoy dinner with his mates.

When he arrived home at ten o’clock and still hadn’t heard from Harry, he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. He wanted to call, but didn’t want to interrupt him if he was busy, so he hopped in the shower instead.

He was lying in bed watching the telly, but not able to concentrate on any particular show, when Harry called at about eleven thirty. Louis grinned as he grabbed for the phone, answering it with a breathy “hi”.

“Hi Babe!” Harry greeted him happily. He could hear people talking and music in the background, so Harry was still obviously out. “Sorry I haven’t called, it’s been so hectic! It’s crazy Lou! I can’t believe how incredible this has all been! It still hasn’t sunk in yet!”

Louis couldn’t help smiling at his excitement. “Believe it Haz, you’re going to be a star babe! I hear they love you up there!”

“It’s insane Louis! There were fans waiting outside our radio gig in Birmingham this morning – actual fans, can you believe it?” he giggled, high on adrenaline and several beers by the sound of it. “Listen Lou, I can’t talk long, I’m out with Nick and we’re just hanging out with some of the guys from the radio station, but I’ll call you tomorrow yeah?”

“Sure Harry, you go and we’ll talk tomorrow” he said, trying not to let his disappointment show.

“OK Great! Talk then, Bye!” Harry hung up without waiting for Louis to say goodbye, obviously itching to get back to his new friends.

“Miss you…” whispered Louis into the phone, nobody at the other end to hear.

 

XXX

 

No call came from Harry the following day, just a text apologising that he was too busy to call. He also saw via Harry’s Twitter feed that he was performing on a morning show in Manchester that day, as well as being invited to a local talent show that evening, as a guest judge.

He also noticed that Nick had tweeted a photo of himself and Harry, arms around each other and grinning ear to ear.

 

 **@grimmers** : @Harry_Styles great night with this party animal! Check out his new single boys and girls – this boy can sing!

 

 

Louis tried not to let it get to him and instead, threw himself into his work. He had been allocated some time to work with the guys from 5SOS and he was really enjoying the challenges of his new position. It also helped that the boys were such nice guys. They were Australian, so were laid back and had a great sense of humour. They also worked hard, which Louis admired.  

He worked long hours on those days and was glad to have a distraction from the fact that Harry was too busy for him. He was happy for Harry and so proud of him, so he told himself it was fine. This was Harry’s time – it wasn’t about him. They shared a few texts here and there and Louis got two very rushed, distracted phone calls, but otherwise, he barely heard from Harry.

On the eighth night Harry was away, Luke and Michael from the band invited Louis to head out for a few drinks with them and he welcomed the opportunity to avoid his empty bed for a few more hours. He’d arrived home in the wee small hours after a great night in good company, feeling better than he had all week. The next day he tweeted for the first time in ages.

 

 **@louis_tomlinson:** @5SoS - love working with these guys – keep an eye on them folks – EP out soon and they’re gonna be big! #5SOS

 **@michael5SoS :** @louis_tomlinson you are awesome mate! Thanks for looking after us so well! Great night out last night!

 **@louis_tomlinson:** @michael5SoS took me all day to recover – you Aussie boys really know how to party!

 

XXXX

 

“You OK Harry?” asked Cara.

Harry looked up from his phone, where he’d been reading Louis’ tweets and smiled at Cara, the smile not quote reaching his eyes. “Yeah fine, where are we headed next?” he asked.

While Cara explained what appearances he had that morning, his thoughts drifted back to the tweets he’d just read. He had been missing Louis like crazy even though he’d been so busy, but it seemed to him that Louis hadn’t missed him at all. He never seemed bothered about Harry not calling and he hadn’t texted Harry at all yesterday, other than a quick “I miss you xx” in the afternoon.

He’d obviously been busy having fun with the boys from 5SoS, he thought, feeling petty even as he resented that Louis was having a good time without him. Harry tried not to be jealous but he couldn’t help it. He knows he hasn’t been doing very well at keeping in touch, but this was his career – it was important. He had to give it his all right now and Louis knew that, he understood. It’s not like he expected Louis to wait at home pining away, but it would be nice to know he missed him.

Maybe he was being too needy. He should concentrate on the job he needed to do up here – this was everything he’d ever wanted and he wanted to make it a success. Nick assured him that he was doing well and that he just needed to focus on himself right now, on raising his profile. He’d been so supportive of Harry, taking a real interest in his success and showing a genuine regard for what Harry wanted. Cara was also really helpful – she was great at getting things done and had planned the trip perfectly, with so much attention to detail. These people were his team – he needed to show his appreciation.

He turned to Nick, who was seated opposite him. “Wanna go out tonight? I feel like celebrating, just letting loose with no obligations.”

Nick grinned. “Hell yeah Harry! I know a great little bar you’re going to love!”

“Awesome!” Harry replied, turning to Cara, who had stopped speaking. “Are you in Cara?”

“Absolutely” she smiled, pleased Harry seemed happier than he’d been all morning.

 

XXXX

 

Louis hadn’t heard from Harry all day and his texts tonight had gone unanswered. He knew Harry was busy, but he missed him badly tonight – wanting to hear his voice more than anything. He wandered around the flat, feeling a little lost. He heated up some leftover Thai food he had in the fridge and put on some episodes of Breaking Bad that he needed to catch up on.

He must have dozed off in front of the telly and when he woke up it was just about midnight. He checked his phone, but there was no reply yet from Harry. He frowned. They would have long since finished their working day and he should have heard from him by now.

He decided to text Cara to find out where they were.

_**11.58pm** _

_Hey babe! Just wondering if you were with Harry? Texted him but he hasn’t got back to me???_

**_12.01am_ **

_Hey Lou! Yeah we went out to a little bar here in Manchester and only just got back! I’m sure he’ll text any minute! Goodnight Love xxxxx_

 

Huh. Interesting.

He didn’t hear from Harry. One o’clock came and went and he still didn’t hear from Harry. He couldn’t sleep, so he opened his laptop and went to twitter. He could see from Harry’s tweets that he’d had a really busy day, which made him feel a little better. He then came across a tweet in his feed that caused him to see red – or rather, green.

Nick had posted a photo. It was a selfie of himself, Cara and Harry, obviously exiting the club tonight. They’d all clearly had too much to drink and Harry had his face buried in Nick’s neck, giggling. Nick was grinning smugly at the camera.

Louis felt his stomach churn at the sight of the close proximity of the boys in the photo. Their positions screamed intimacy and the jealousy and possessiveness hit Louis like a tidal wave.

He was texting Harry before he really thought better of it. Anger radiating off him in waves.

 

**_12.03am_ **

_See you and fuckface had a great night out – good to see you had time to go drinking but no time to text me…._

**_12.05am_ **

_Had a busy day and was unwinding with a few drinks – didn’t realise I had to have your permission. Besides, thought you may be on another big night out with your Aussie boys…heard they really know how to party…_

**_12.07am_ **

_Are u kidding me right now?_

**_12.08am_ **

_Not smiling so I guess not :/_

**_12.10am_ **

_I was working Harry._

**_12.11am_ **

_So was I._

**_12.13am_ **

_So it’s your job to have your face in Nick’s neck is it? Job description’s changed a bit since I last saw it!_

**_12.15am_ **

_I’m not doing this with you right now Lou._

**_12.16am_ **

_You don’t need to do it at all Harry - I’m done._

 

 

Louis threw his phone onto the bed, letting out a frustrated sound and promptly burst into tears. He’d spent ten days trying to put his feelings aside to be happy for Harry, to be supportive, and this was the thanks he got! Harry was being a self-absorbed shithead! He barely hears from him in ten days, then finds out he’s all over Grimshaw and Harry’s the one who has the hide to have a go at him for having a night out with friends!

 _This is why I never get involved_ he thinks, _this is why it’s better to keep it casual. The minute the heart gets involved, everything gets fucked up! Fuck the fireworks! Fireworks my arse – what a load of shit!_

He cried himself to sleep, tossing and turning well into the early hours before giving up and getting out of bed. He showered and decided to head into work early. He was determined to put this whole time with Harry behind him and get back to his old self again. He could be a stubborn son of a bitch when he put his mind to it and he was definitely going to put his mind to this.

He headed for the café up the road to arm himself with caffeine. He may look like shit, but he’d be damned if he was going to take this lying down. Fuck heartbreak! Louis Tomlinson did not do heartbreak. By the time he was finished, Harry would be just a distant memory.

XXX

Harry woke with a pounding head and a pounding at his door. He grumbled his protests as he staggered over to the door, knowing he should have been able to sleep in this morning, swinging it open to find Cara on the other side of it. She pushed past him angrily and into the room without saying a word.

“By all means Cara, come on in!” he mumbled huskily.

“What the fuck Harry?” were the first words out of her mouth after he’d closed the door. “Louis just text me saying you were finished! Would you care to explain?”

“He finished with me Cara, so stop looking at me like that! He goes off clubbing with the 5SoS boys, but then he has a shitfit when I go out with you and Nick! I hardly think he’s being fair, do you?”

“What? That makes no sense Harry!”

“I know! He just kept ranting about me having my face all in Nick’s neck or something, I don’t know.” he waved his hand dismissively.

“What, where would he get an idea like that?” asked Cara again, completely confused.

“I don’t know – his overactive imagination probably!” answered Harry.

Cara sat staring into space for a moment before her face cleared as understanding set in. “Oh. Harry. I think I know what’s got him all in a tizz.”

Harry simply raised his eyebrows at her.

“Got your laptop handy?” she replied.

He wordlessly grabbed his laptop and logged in, handing it over to Cara. She opened Twitter and scrolled till she found what she was looking for, groaning as she saw the picture Grimy had posted. It was one of many they’d taken, but Nick had purposely chosen the one where Harry was cuddled into his side, most likely to rev Louis up.

“Fucking Nick!” she spat out.

“What Cara?” Harry demanded.

She turned the screen around so Harry could see the photo. “No wonder Louis was upset Harry – this photo makes it look like you and Nick are together! You’re practically hanging off him!”

Harry looked at the offending photo, shocked at the way he looked, curled into Nick’s neck that way, giggling. He knew straight away what Louis would have thought – how he’d feel if the situation were reversed.

“Oh Shit!” he breathed.

“Shit indeed” replied Cara. “This is going to take some major damage control to fix! Let me text him back and then I’m going to find Nick. I’m going to kick his fucking arse for pulling a stunt like that!”

“I’m calling him, I need to explain to him. It’s not what it looks like!” He started searching for his phone, finding it on the floor beside the bed and dialling Louis’ number. It rang once, then went to message bank. Louis was avoiding his call. He left a message anyway.

“Lou, it’s me. Listen, I’ve just seen the photo Nick posted. Please call me – we need to talk. It’s not what it looks like!” He hung up, frustrated at not being able to speak to Louis.

Cara tried calling as well, but Louis was avoiding all contact today and Harry couldn’t blame him. Nick may have been good to him, but Harry was angry at him right now. He wasn’t sure if he’d posted the photo on purpose or not, but it sure looked like he had.

He threw some pants on, not bothering with a shirt and set off for Nick’s room.

 

XXX

 

When Louis arrived at the office after wandering around London with his coffee for a while, Liam, Niall and Zayn were all waiting for him in his office.

Louis looked at all of them with his eyebrows raised. “Aren’t we all just conscientious this morning” he drawled sarcastically. Bitchy was definitely his fall back when he was hurt and it was dialled up to eleven right now.

“Cara called me” answered Liam.

“And?” asked Louis casually.

“C’mon Lou” replied Zayn “don’t pretend you’re not upset – we know you better than that.”

“Not pretending” Louis argued. “I was upset last night, of course, but I decided this morning that I’m going to put it behind me and bypass the whole broken heart phase.”

“You don’t just get to decide that Louis – you can’t control what you feel!” scoffed Liam.

“Wanna bet?” answered Louis archly.

“Louis, Cara said it’s not what it looks like, she said you need to talk to Harry and he can explain.” Niall replied.

“Nope” said Louis, matter-of-factly. “Look lads, it doesn’t matter if this thing with Nick is real or not in the end. Truth is that it’s probably for the best – Harry’s career is just taking off, he’s barely had time to speak to me in the last ten days and it’s only going to get worse as his popularity grows. Everyone’s going to want a piece of him and I’m not inclined to share – it’s a recipe for disaster! Better to just move on now and avoid all the unpleasantness that would surely take place if we let this thing continue.”

“This thing you’re casually discarding is what’s made you the happiest I’ve seen you in forever” said Zayn quietly.

For a moment, Louis’ mask slipped and he looked like he might crumple, but he quickly pulled himself together with a look of steely determination the boys knew only too well.

“All good things must come to an end Zayn. Would I have preferred it to be otherwise? Of course I would have. But I refuse to wallow – I think I’ll skip that part thank you very much and just move right onto the part where I move on. Now that concludes our discussion on this subject and as my friends, I’d prefer you didn’t bring it up again.”

The other boys recognised the finality in his voice and left the topic alone for now.

“So, who’s up for a night out tonight lads?” Louis asked with a bright smile that did nothing to hide the underlying sadness in his eyes.

 

XXX

 

“What the fuck Nick?” Harry asked as Nick opened his door.

“Harry? What’s going on mate?”

“You’re an arsehole, that’s what’s going on! Why did you post that picture on Twitter – were you trying to break Louis and I up?” he raised his voice.

“Firstly, no. Secondly, come inside, I’m not having this discussion in public” he gestured to a teenage girl down the hallway on her phone, looking at them curiously.

Harry sighed and pushed past Nick.

“Now” said Nick as he closed the door behind him “would you care to explain to me what the fuck you’re talking about?”

“That picture of us – you made it look like we were together Nick! Louis ended things with me last night!”

“Bloody hell” Nick rolled his eyes “What a bloody drama queen! For a start, no I didn’t intend to cause trouble – I just thought it was a cute photo! I can’t be held responsible if Louis over-reacts!”

“Fuck off Nick – you knew how it looked, that’s why you posted it. You wanted to get to him and it worked! Do you realise what you’ve done? I really care for him and you’ve gone and fucked it all up!” Harry ran a hand through his hair, sitting down on the end of Nick’s bed.

Nick sighed as he sat down beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders. “I’m sorry Harry. I had no idea he’d take it like this. I guess I may have wanted to get under his skin, but it wasn’t intended to hurt either of you. I’ll call him and explain if it helps.”

“No! Just, stay away from him will you? And don’t post anymore pictures!”

“OK, I won’t, I promise!” Nick answered. “I hope you can forgive me Harry?”

Harry sighed. He was too hung over to deal with this right now and Nick had been so good to him up till now.  He felt his anger dissipating. “It’s OK, I forgive you” he mumbled. “Now I have to go and see if I can fix this.” He got up and headed for the door.

As he stepped out into the hallway, Nick grabbed his arm.  “Harry, if there’s anything I can do to make it right, just let me know OK? I really didn’t mean to cause trouble.”

“It’s fine” Harry answered, squeezing his shoulder “I know you didn’t mean it.”

As Harry walked away he didn’t see that the girl on her phone had snapped a picture of the boy she recognised from the morning show the day before.

XXXX


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Well here it is - Chapter 7.
> 
> This changed from where I originally wanted this chapter to go, so I hope it turned out OK! I was going to drag out the pain a bit longer, but was a little emotional after Louis' tweets yesterday, so, I really needed some love in this chapter - sue me!
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks again for reading! :) xx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The show I refer to in this Chapter is called "Ant & Dec's Sunday Take-Away" and is a variety show hosted by Ant & Dec from Blue Peter, the children's show. I've only seen it a couple of times here in Australia, but it was cool and I love Ant & Dec, so...it may not be accurate but whatevs!

So death by alcohol apparently hadn’t worked. Unless _praying_ for death as he hugged the porcelain bowl in his bathroom, throwing up everything and his spleen counted. Liam informed him it didn’t as he rubbed his back and sponged his forehead with a damp flannel at four in the morning. He was so miserably grateful for that small mercy, so grateful that Liam and Zayn had brought him home and refused to leave him. He was pathetically needy right now. And so, so despondent.

Apparently excessive consumption of alcohol also failed to eradicate Harry from his mind, although he had really given it his best shot. If you’re going to do something, do it well, right? Well he gave it a red hot go and now he is suffering the consequences. All his misery was completely self-induced, but he preferred to blame Harry at this point. Harry, with his green eyes and soft smile and bloody charming ways. He had sneaked past Louis’ defences and into his heart in the blink of an eye, making Louis feel things he’d never felt before and leaving him vulnerable.

He’d had so many missed calls from Harry and he’d deleted every message without listening to it. He’d been so angry at him and he knew it was childish, but he couldn’t help it. He needed to call Harry when he felt better and apologise – tell him he didn’t mean it, that he wasn’t done with him. He hoped Harry would forgive him. All he wanted was to run to him and bury himself in his arms.

Making a clean break had sounded good in theory, but the reality was so much more complicated than that. The need for Harry was a physical ache, almost too much to bear. He had realised during the course of the night that it was no use trying to control his feelings for Harry – they had a mind of their own.

He raised his head off the side of the bowl, saliva dribbling from his mouth and vomit down his chin and shirt, and looked at Liam.

“I think that’s all – there’s nothing left to throw up” he croaked.

“OK Buddy” Liam soothed “let’s get you in a shower and get you all cleaned off.” He lifted Louis to his feet like he weighed nothing and helped him get his clothes off, guiding him into the running shower, all the while telling him it would be OK. Louis was suddenly overcome with a rush of affection for his friend, tears forming in his eyes.

“Thank you Liam” he whimpered softly, tears beginning to fall.

“It’s OK Lou” he answered, wiping the tears away. “It’s going to be OK”

“I think I’m love with him Li” he said.

“I think you are too mate” he agreed. “Let’s get you rinsed off and get you into bed – we’ll worry about all this tomorrow, yeah?”

Louis nodded and put his head under the warm stream, feeling instantly comforted by the running water. After the shower he dried off and threw on his boxers and slid into bed. Zayn was waiting with a water bottle and some painkillers and Louis took them, eyes closing as soon as his head hit the pillow. Zayn and Liam lay next to him, one on either side and he felt comforted by their presence.

 

XXX

 

The next day was Saturday and Louis didn’t get out of bed that morning at all. He heard the boys get up and fix themselves breakfast, but he didn’t have the energy to lift his head from the pillow. He fought back a wave of nausea and drifted back to sleep.

It was late afternoon before he became fully awake. He could hear the TV in the lounge room and realised that Liam and Zayn had stayed. He was grateful for their presence, and touched they had refused to leave him.

He wandered out to the lounge room on heavy legs and found Niall and Barb also sprawled on his lounge. They all looked up as he entered the room.

“It lives” joked Zayn affectionately.

“Whoa Tommo – you look like Shit!” exclaimed Niall.

“How are feeling mate?” asked Liam.

“Like I’ve been run over by a truck and then it reversed back over me a few extra times, just to be sure the job was done.” He said, voice gravelly from vomiting all night.

“Not surprising” answered Zayn “you did try very hard to drink all the alcohol in London last night.”

“Yeah, well, it didn’t help, did it?” he replied “just feel worse. And before you say I told you so, please have some compassion for my sore head and broken heart. I need to call Harry and tell him I didn’t mean it when I broke up with him. I was being such a jealous prick.”

An uncomfortable silence fell and the boys shifted nervously. Louis could sense there was something wrong immediately.

“What am I missing?” he asked slowly.

It was Niall that spoke. “Harry’s been texting me. He’s in a bit of a state Lou.”

“Well, that makes two of us, so we’re even” answered Louis.

“Not just because he thought you finished with him.” Niall started shifting uncomfortably now. “Apparently there’s an article online, linking him to Nick. There’s a picture of him leaving Nick’s room with no shirt on and everything.”

“What?” Louis said, heart hammering in his chest.

“He swears it’s all a misunderstanding – he’s been trying to call you non-stop!” Niall replied quickly. “It looks pretty bad though.” He finished weakly.

“You need to call him Lou, before you do anything else” warned Liam.

“Have you seen it?” Louis asked.

“Yes” answered Niall, looking at the ground.

“That bad eh?” Louis tried for a light tone, failing miserably.

“It’s pretty bad, yeah” Zayn replied quietly. “Don’t really know what to think, to be honest. I’d like to believe him, but…..well the pictures are pretty incriminating.”

“Well I say we need to give him the chance to at least explain!” said Liam.

“I did Liam!” replied Niall “He said the pictures were out of context – that he’d actually gone to Nick’s room to confront him about tweeting the photo and someone had snapped him. He also said the other two photos just looked worse than they are. I don’t really know what to think – he sounds so upset, so sincere, but….”

Louis walked straight over to his laptop, sitting on the coffee table. As soon as he logged in, the page came up, the boys having obviously been looking at it.

It was awful. Louis’ head started spinning and his stomach flip flopped as he let his eyes skim over the headline “SuperNova’s Resident Bad Boy Snags New Talent!” and came to rest on the three photos that accompanied the article. The first was the one Nick had tweeted, the second was of Harry and Nick whispering in each other’s ear at one of the radio performances, looking very intimate and the third was of a shirtless Harry leaving Nick’s hotel room, reaching out to touch his shoulder, Nick’s arm grabbing his.

“Shit” Louis breathed. He felt ill. He couldn’t calm his hammering heart or the pounding in his head.

“I think we should call him right now” suggested Niall. “You know better than to listen to the media – half of what they print is pure shyte! We need to get it from the horses mouth!”

Everybody murmured their agreement as they watched Louis digest what was written in the article. He took a deep breath before he looked up and replied “I can’t talk to him right now Niall. I couldn’t bear to hear his voice or hear anything he has to say. Maybe later – but not right now. I need to think.” He walked into his bedroom without another word.

 

XXXX

 

Harry was frantic. He and Cara had both been calling Louis with no answer. He was pacing his hotel room, trying to stay calm but having no luck.

“Fuck Cara! Niall said he saw it – said he hardly said a word before he took himself off to his room. I need to speak to him – I need to see him!” He was verging on hysterical by this stage.

“Calm down Harry! We’ll sort it out OK? But you need to understand where he’s at. This looks fucking suss as all hell! Those pictures are so damning! You need to squash these rumours immediately – release a statement.”

“Nick said that’ll just make it worse – like I’ve got something to hide. He said the best defence is to say I have no comment.”

“Oh Harry, don’t be so fucking naive!” Cara burst out, frustrated. “Don’t you see, Nick’s been trying to get closer to you from day one! He fancies you, you idiot! Telling you to say no comment is Nick’s way of prolonging his five seconds of fame, of making it seem like there _is_ something going on! He _wants_ to be linked to you – hell, he all but drools when you’re anywhere near him! That boy is toxic and if you allow him to, he’ll kill your relationship with Louis just out of spite – hoping he has a chance with you. I’m not going to stand by and let that happen without a fight!”

Harry stood stunned. “But….but Nick has been so good to me. He wouldn’t do that – he’s my friend! He never meant for any of this to happen – it’s not his fault Cara!”

“Isn’t it? Think about it Harry! Use your brain! All I’m saying is that you need to think for yourself – do what your heart tells you. If you do what Nick tells you, you can kiss Louis goodbye. Believe me – I’ve known him forever and he’s no friend to anyone unless there’s something in it for him.”

She strode from the room, slamming the door behind her and leaving Harry to process everything she’d said. He sat in silence for a while before dialling Cara’s number.

“I’ve got a plan” was all he said.

 

XXXX

 

Louis lay on his bed. He was too wired to sleep and too distressed to get up. He didn’t know what to think. He knew he had to talk to Harry, but he couldn’t bring himself to pick up the phone. All he could see in his mind was the obvious affection and intimacy between Harry and Nick in those photos and it made his blood boil. He was feeling so many things – doubt, confusion, anger, jealousy and possessiveness. He was hurting so badly. It felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest. He wanted to scream, try to get out all he was feeling, but couldn’t muster up the energy. So he just continued to lay there.

His phone was buzzing constantly and he assumed it was Harry, but he didn’t even bother to look.

He must have dozed off for a while, because he awoke when the sun was almost gone and it was getting dark outside. He could still hear the boys and Barbara out in the lounge room, but didn’t bother to get up. They’d leave when they were ready.

It was about half an hour after that when Niall burst into the room.

“Louis! Harry said he’s been calling you non-stop and you won’t pick up. He says you have to watch his guest spot on Ant & Dec. It starts any minute. He grabbed Louis and physically pulled him out of bed toward the lounge room. Louis didn’t protest – he just sat down next to Liam in a daze, who promptly put his arm around him and Louis cuddled into his side, concentrating on the TV. The ads were on, but the show returned soon enough.

_“Welcome back girls and boys!” said Ant. “We’ve got a real newcomer up next. He’s been causing a bit of a splash with his debut single and we thought we’d invite him along for a bit of a chat! Please welcome Harry Styles!”_

The camera flashed to Harry’s face as he walked on set, waving at the live audience and carrying his guitar and Louis felt breathless at the sight of him. He was stunning. Dressed casually in black skinny jeans, a floral shirt and his brown desert boots, he was effortlessly cool. He was smiling at the audience and greeted Ant & Dec with his trademark dimples on show.

_“Welcome Harry! How are you?” Said Dec._

_“Well, I’ve actually been better mate..” answered Harry, with an exaggerated sad look on his face._

_“Really?” Ant replied, clearly not convinced. “I would’ve thought having a single steadily climbing the charts and an exploding fan base would be enough to make anybody happy! What’s got you down mate?”_

_“Don’t get me wrong - I am pleased people have liked my music and I’m so grateful to everyone who came out to meet me and have bought the single. But I’d like address some rumours that have been doing the rounds if I may?” asked Harry._

_“By all means!” answered Dec “I have a feeling I know which rumours you’re talking about actually.”_

_“Yeah, I’m pretty sure everyone is aware that there have been articles linking me to Nick Grimshaw, who’s a good friend of mine, and while I usually wouldn’t respond to rumours, I feel like I need to in this case. You see…” Harry paused then, seeming reluctant to continue, before finally saying “I happen to be madly in love – but not with Nick Grimshaw.”_

 

Louis’ heart stopped beating for a moment before stuttering back to life. He sat up, staring intently at the screen.

 

_The audience let out a surprised gasp followed by a collective “Awwwww”, before Harry continued._

_“Thank you” he smiled “he’s pretty wonderful! Our relationship is still fairly new and I hadn’t told him how I felt yet. When the rumours surfaced, along with photos, that were totally innocent by the way, it really hurt him. If he’s listening right now, I want him to know that I’m crazy about him.” He looked at the camera and it felt like he was looking right at Louis when he added “Lou, I love you and I’ll be home soon.”_

_The crowd let out a cheer and were clapping and hollering while Harry smiled at them, pleased with the response._

_“Well!” exclaimed Ant “There you have it folks – Harry Styles is officially off the market! I’d say Lou – whoever he is – is one lucky fella! Now Harry, are you going to give us a little performance of your song now?”_

_Harry smiled and agreed, putting on his guitar and proceeding to sing._

Louis didn’t even take in Harry’s performance, he was busy wiping the tears from his face. Harry had just said he loved him on national television!

The boys were all gaping at the TV, smiling and Barbara was giggling. “Well, I guess that clears things up!” she snorted.

Louis quickly went into the room and grabbed his phone to shoot off a text to Harry straight away, opening it to see a whole batch of texts from Cara as well as Harry. The ones from Cara were particularly heated, urging him to pick his phone and stop being a shithead. She also mentioned that Nick had been manipulating Harry just to get between them. The texts from Harry were pleading for him to pick up and talk to him, telling him nothing was going on and that he was sorry for the article. Louis felt so bad reading the desperation in Harry’s words.

Just then, his phone rang, Cara’s caller ID flashing on the screen. Louis quickly answered.

“Hello”

“So I guess you saw it then?” said Cara.

“Yeah” answered Louis.

“He didn’t know if you’d be happy he outed your relationship on national TV, but he didn’t know what else to do to make it clear how he feels” she laughed.

Louis giggled. “I’ve been such an idiot Cara!”

“You know it! You’ve been a pair of idiots! He cleared his calendar Lou – cancelled everything! He just wants to get home to you! He’ll be on his way straight after the show. Simon’s having a conniption and Nick’s really angry, but Harry stood up to them – you should’ve seen it! I think you can expect to get hauled into Simon’s office on Monday.”

“I don’t even care – tell him I’ll be here waiting! I can’t wait to see him!”

“OK love, he’ll call you as soon as he’s in the car I’m sure.”

 

XXXX

 

The boys and Barb all cleared out pretty quickly after that – happy that Harry was on his way. Louis quickly showered and washed his hair, putting on some casual clothes and sitting nervously waiting for Harry’s call. It came a few minutes later and Louis snatched it up.

“Haz?”

“Louis! Thank God! I didn’t know what else to do Lou – I’m so sorry for everything!”

“No Haz, I’m sorry! I’m sorry for over-reacting and I’m sorry for not speaking to you before now. I’ve been a prize idiot.”

“So have I love. Listen I’m about twenty five minutes away OK? I can’t wait to see you Lou!”

“You too Haz, see you soon.”

 

XXX

 

Harry had no sooner knocked on the door once than it was thrown open and he had an armful of Louis.

He laughed as he dropped his bag in the hallway and placed his hands under Louis’ bum, holding him there and kissing him soundly.

“Hi” said Harry softly as they pulled apart.

“Hi” Louis answered, just as softly “welcome home.”

Harry let him down and picked up his bag and they went inside. As soon as the door closed, Louis was pushing Harry against it, kissing him with a primal need that Harry reciprocated immediately.

“I’m so..”

“sorry”

“Lou” he gasped between kisses.

Louis whimpered and deepened the kiss, not wanting to talk but needing Harry naked as soon as possible. He clawed at Harry’s clothes, needing them off now. Harry obliged and Louis was running his hands down Harry’s torso, moaning with need while Harry ripped his t-shirt over his head. Then he put his hands under Louis’ thighs and lifted him up, carrying him into the bedroom.

He put Louis down just beside the bed, saying “pants off, now!”

They both stripped bare and came back together in a heated exchange of mouths, teeth and tongues. There was such a desperate edge to the kiss and Harry groaned as Louis brushed against his aching length. He pushed Louis backward onto the mattress and followed him down, settling between his legs. Louis immediately rolled them over so he was on top. “Need to fuck you Harry” he gasped “need to be inside you.”

Harry understood. He knew Louis needed to feel in control, needed to feel that Harry belonged to him and he was more than happy to oblige.

“I need that too Lou” he panted.

Louis reached for the lube on the bedside table and coated his fingers liberally. He rubbed back and forth over Harry’s entrance a few times before pushing a finger inside. At the same time, he leaned down and took Harry's shaft into his mouth, sucking a leisurely rhythm.  He began slowly opening Harry up, brushing against his prostate every few strokes, working him up till he was writhing in the sheets, moaning Louis’ name. He added a second and third finger in quick succession and Harry was quickly fucking back onto his hand and crying out, begging for Louis to fuck him.

“I’m so ready Louis, please..” he was grinding back in earnest onto Louis’ fingers now, but it wasn’t enough.

Louis reached for the condom and his shaking hands and wet fingers struggled to tear it open, eventually using his teeth and rolling it on, slicking it up with lube. He paused at Harry’s entrance and Harry huffed out a frustrated whimper, urging him forward with his feet. He slid in, the pleasure almost too much, and he worked in and out slowly, his eyes locked on Harry’s.

He increased his pace, angling up to brush Harry’s prostate and Harry cried out, pleasure shooting through his body. Louis kept that angle and his pace was steady, hitting Harry's prostate relentlessly and driving both of them toward release.

Harry let go first, climaxing and streaking white up his stomach and chest with a strangled cry, clenching around Louis as he rode out his orgasm.

Louis followed him into ecstasy with a shout and Harry’s name falling from his lips as he stiffened, feeling the rush of release. He collapsed onto Harry, barely able to catch his breath.

After a few moments, Harry kissed Louis on the side of his head as he said “I love you.”

Louis smiled, looking up at him. “I love you too, Harry. The fireworks never lie.”

Harry looked quizzically at him and he giggled, knowing his Nan was giggling along with him. “I’ll explain later” he laughed.

He rolled off Harry, removed the condom and discarded it beside the bed on the floor – he’d worry about it tomorrow.

As they lay in the afterglow, Louis’ head on Harry’s chest and Harry gently stroking his arm. Harry chuckled.

“What?” asked Louis without picking his head up off Harry’s chest.

“I may have got us into a bit of trouble with Simon.” He warned Louis “Oh, and I’m pretty sure Nick hates both of us, but Cara’s totally behind us, so there’s that.”

“Oh well” answered Louis “Let’s see what Monday morning brings shall we? Right now I’m about as content as I could be.”

They drifted off to sleep, each smiling softly and looking forward to a lazy Sunday – preferably spent in bed…..


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So here's Chapter 8. It's nice and fluffy and full of smut, but also hints at what is to come...
> 
> A HUGE shout out to Sassy_Boo_Bear, whose messages got me re-inspired to get moving on this fic again, as I was feeling a bit flat! Thank you :) x
> 
> Again, thanks for Kudos and Comments - they are life to every writer on here!
> 
> Also I am so touched at the feedback on Escape to Paradise - you guys are so beautiful! xxxxxx

Louis woke slowly on Sunday morning, drifting in and out of his sleep state for a while before he actually became fully awake. When he did, he felt the warmth of Harry pressed up against his back, spooning him, and smiled a contented smile. All was right with the world again. Harry was back. And he loved Louis. _Loved him_.

He turned in Harry’s arms, facing him and drinking in the sight of his face slumped against the pillow, relaxed in sleep. He looked so childlike when he was asleep, his mouth hanging open and his pink, full lips pouting of their own accord. He was ridiculously beautiful and Louis would never get tired of staring at him. Harry stirred.

“You’re being creepy” Harry mumbled in his croaky morning voice, without even cracking an eye open and Louis giggled.

“Good Morning” he whispered “how did you know I was looking at you?”

“I could feel it. S’creepy” Harry replied, eyes still shut. “Go back to sleep Lou, it’s early” he added.

Louis turned back over and let Harry spoon him again, grinning ear to ear like the besotted fool he was. He wasn’t really tired anymore, but the day outside was wet and cold and he was cosy where he was. Harry’s arms came back around his waist and he could think of no other place he’d rather be.

Only now he was awake, Louis found it hard to be still. He also found it hard being in such close proximity to Harry’s naked body and not having Harry’s dick in his arse. He was only human really and shouldn’t be subject to judgement for his fascination with Harry’s dick. As dicks go, it was pretty much the Rolls Royce, so who could blame him for wanting it buried in him whenever possible? Really, he should get a fucking medal for being as restrained as he was. Lesser people than him would have woken Harry by now, demanding he put that thing to good use. Louis was a fucking saint, that’s what he was.

Alright, he wasn’t a saint. He was rubbing his backside up and down Harry’s front, trying to raise a bit of interest out of him. He was downright horny now, and he was not known for his patience. He was thrusting back, causing a delicious friction against Harry’s half interested shaft now and he needed Harry to wake up!

Harry’s arm suddenly tightened around his waist, stilling his movements and holding him firm against Harry’s front.

“Lou” he warned “if you keep doing that, you’re going to get my cock in your arse.”

Louis giggled and rolled his hips, his backside rolling down Harry’s length. “Promises, promises” he breathed.

In a matter of a few seconds, Louis found himself pinned face down, as Harry rolled onto his back, lying along the length of his body. Louis gasped as Harry thrust his hips, drawing attention to his now fully interested cock. He put his lips down to Louis’ ear and said quietly, his voice still husky from sleep “Oh you’ve done it now Lou”. Harry held him down with his body as he reached beside the bed for the lube. Louis felt the excited rush of anticipation as Harry coated his fingers, reaching down to Louis’ arse and circling his finger around the entrance, all the while murmuring in his ear from over his shoulder, in that sexy croaky voice that shot desire straight to Louis aching erection.

“Let’s see what you get for waking me up hmm? Gonna fuck you so hard Lou, gonna make you scream.”

“Yes!” Louis hissed as Harry inserted the first finger into his puckered hole. He whimpered as Harry began to move his finger thrusting slowly.

“Feel good baby?” Harry panted.

“Mmmmm, ohhhhh yes” he moaned as Harry added the second finger, brushing them over his prostate for a mere second before scissoring them to open him more. He was taking his time and the excruciatingly slow pace was driving Louis crazy.

“Harry” he whined, not able to articulate what it was he wanted.

“Yeah baby?” Harry answered, his heavy breathing huffing against Louis’ ear as he asked “you like that?”

Louis nodded, merely letting out a low groan as Harry added the third finger, again brushing Louis’ prostate, but not lingering enough to give him any satisfaction. He was teasing and Louis was going crazy with need. He was thrusting his hips forward, trying desperately to get some friction from the sheets on his poor aching cock, but nothing was giving him any relief.

“Jesus Harry!” he choked out “you’re trying to kill me! Need you now - pleeeeeaaaase” Harry hit his prostate dead on as he finished speaking and he felt a bolt of pleasure shoot right through him. Harry kept his fingers in Louis, working him till he was incoherent and begging, while grabbing a condom with his other hand. He withdrew his fingers, but took no time at all to roll on the condom and position himself at Louis’ entrance.

He spread Louis’ legs wider and settled between them, sliding a pillow under Louis’ hips before sitting up on his knees and sliding in. He worked his way in, sliding in and out, slowly going further with each thrust, until he had bottomed out. He hovered over Louis then, his arms on either side, holding him just above Louis’ body as he started a rhythm, building speed with each thrust.

“Harder Haz” Louis gasped “fuck me harder.”

“Fuck” Harry breathed as he increased his speed and slammed into Louis, the angle changed slightly and he hit Louis’ prostate, causing him to cry out.

“Argh!”

Harry didn’t stop, he pounded into Louis, who was moaning his name, the friction of his dick on the pillow under him helping to push him toward his release. When he uttered a strangled noise, clenching around Harry, it was too much for Harry to take and he climaxed almost immediately with a loud cry, collapsing down onto louis’ back and struggling to regain any kind of steady breathing. They were both gasping for air and Harry rolled off so Louis’ was able to breathe better, laying beside him on his side and facing him. He reached out and pushed Louis’ fringe out of his face and put his palm up to caress Louis’ cheek. Louis reached up and placed his hand over Harry’s, smiling softly at him. They lay in silence like this for a few minutes, before Harry tugged the duvet up and asked “can we sleep some more now?”

Louis huffed out a laugh and shuffled over to place his cheek on Harry’s chest, right above his hammering heart. They both fell back to sleep pretty quickly, the sound of the rain outside lulling them back off.

 

XXXX

 

Harry woke later in the day to no Louis and some weird smell wafting in from the hallway. After a moment he still wasn’t able to place the smell, so thought it best if he investigate. He threw on his boxers and went in search of Louis and the origin of that god-awful stench.

When he reached the doorway to the kitchen, he found Louis in front of the stove in just his boxers, cursing and fussing over whatever it was that was giving off the smell that was assaulting Harry’s nostrils.

“Oh Fuck, you bloody little fucker!” he muttered, and Harry couldn’t help the fond smile that appeared on his face.

“Everything alright?” he asked.

Louis obviously hadn’t heard his approach, because at Harry’s question he jerked back, spinning around and knocking the dish to the ground, the contents spilling onto the floor.

“Oh fucking bastard thing!” he cursed the dish as it slopped onto the kitchen floor. “Harry! You scared the shit out of me! Now look what you’ve made me do!”

Harry giggled as he replied “Sorry babe” and walked in to help clean up the mess “but seriously, what the fuck was that? It smelled awful!”

“I was cooking us lunch – don’t be rude!” Louis scolded.

“No offense Lou” he answered “but that didn’t smell like something I would want to eat. What is it?” he asked looking at the offending mush sceptically.

I don’t really know in the end!” laughed Louis. “I was watching this Jamie Oliver show and he did this layered Spanish thing right? And it had beans and shit, then a layer of potatoes and then a layer of something else, like a tomato concoction, then cheese melted over the top. So I thought I’d make that, but then I didn’t have any of the ingredients. But when I started looking around, I found a tin of baked beans and I was like hey! Beans! And then I found some fish fingers in the freezer and I thought well they could probably work in place of the potatoes right? Then I had some spaghetti sauce and I thought maybe that would do for the tomato thingy layer and then I had some cheese slices that I could melt over the top and hey presto! Lunch is served.”

Harry had his lips pressed so tightly together to keep from laughing and he could only manage a nod as he listened to Louis.

“So” continued Louis “then I put them all in this pan and well, as they cooked, it all just mushed together and started to smell funny and yeah…….this might be a good time to tell you that I really _really_ can’t cook for shit!”

Harry lost his battle with the giggles then, taking Louis in his arms and laughing as he replied “Oh Lou, I already knew that!” he pulled back and held Louis’ face in his giant hands, kissed him gently on the mouth and added “lucky you’re fucking awesome in bed – that kind of makes up for your lack of culinary skills! Besides, I love to cook, so you don’t need to worry!” He went to the sink and took some paper towel off the bench there, leaning down to start cleaning up the mess on the floor.

He’d said it so casually, so off-handedly, but Louis stopped and looked at him, the implication of what Harry had just said hitting him head on. He realised that he wanted Harry here, cooking in his kitchen, sharing his home, sharing his life.

“Move in” he said softly. “Move in with me.”

Harry didn’t even pause in is cleaning, just looked up at Louis with a grin on his face, all dimples and tousled curls.

“Yeah. OK.”

It was that simple. No big dramatic moment. It was just like everything else that had happened since they’d met – it just happened naturally and they never questioned it, knowing deep down that it felt right. At that moment, Louis had never been more certain of anything in his life.

 

XXXX

 

They were saved from ordering pizza when Niall phoned to see if they wanted to grab some lunch. He and Barb were heading down to the pub near Louis’ place with Zayn and Liam.

“Liam and Zayn said you two wouldn’t want to leave your bed today” he laughed “but I knew you’d have no food in that flat of yours with Harry being away and all and you would’ve worked up an appetite am I right? Hahahaha!”

“Niall, you know me too well” laughed Louis. “We’ll meet you guys there in about thirty minutes OK?”

It was actually 45 minutes.

While showering together would normally save on time and water, the blow jobs they traded actually slowed things up considerably.

They rugged up in coats and beanies and headed out the door, hand in hand and giggling as they made plans to move Harry’s things into Louis’ place the following weekend. They were so deep in conversation, they didn’t register the small group of paps waiting for them outside. They were immediately set upon, questions fired at them as they walked down the pathway to the road.

_“Louis! Have you forgiven Harry for cheating on you with Nick Grimshaw?”_

_“Harry, are you pleased to be reunited with your boyfriend after all the speculation?”_

_“You two are a cute couple! What do you say to those who have said coming out will have a negative effect on your music career?”_

 

“Boy, they worked fast!” Louis said, shocked that they had already known who he was.

“I know – maybe they followed me last night? Either that or they’re like the FBI with their investigative skills! Are you OK?” he looked worried.

“I’m fine Haz – it’s par for the course, we’d better get used to it. I just didn’t expect it yet!”

They kept their hands linked tightly as they made their way down the road, not deigning to answer any of the questions shouted at them, but rather just giving them a smile before walking on. The paps had gotten the pictures they were after – Harry leaving Louis’ flat the morning after his big declaration of love – so they went on their way, thankfully.

They arrived at the pub and everyone else was already there.

“It’s about time Tommo!” complained Niall. “We already ordered – couldn’t wait! And I don’t want to know why you’re late – I can hazard a guess thanks very much!”

“Would you have guessed there were paps waiting for us outside the flat?” asked Louis.

“Oh Shit!” replied Niall “that was quick! I definitely would’ve blamed it on blow jobs to be honest.”

Harry bit back a grin, blushing as Louis smiled back at him and replied “well, there was that too I suppose!”

Everyone at the table groaned.

“Too much information!” said Zayn.

Louis just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I had to walk into my flat and be traumatised by the sight of my two supposedly straight best friends naked and spooning on my hardwood floor – that’s the very definition of too much information Zayn, so you’ve no room to talk!”

“He’s right babe” smiled Liam, putting a hand on Zayn’s thigh “it freaked _me_ out – I can only imagine what it did to _him_!”

“Nice to see we can now joke about what was a pretty distressing time in my life” replied Louis, giving Liam a wink.

He was beyond pleased his best mates had found such happiness with each other. They still hadn’t told their families – they were giving themselves some time to work it out, but they were going strong and Louis had no doubts they’d be alright.

“Oh by the way” Louis said casually “who wants to help Harry move his stuff into my place next weekend?”

The group didn’t show the slightest surprise at this development. Simply commented on this turn of events like they were expecting it.

“Well it’s about time!”

“Yeah, you two can’t be apart for more than a day without going to pieces to it makes sense.”

Louis simply gave them all a very unimpressed Tommo look, full of sass and attitude. They ignored him of course, and started chatting about when Niall and Barb were going to move in together, and Louis was a little disgruntled that his announcement hadn’t met with more excitement.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, letting him know he had a text message and he opened it to find a message from Simon Cowell.

****

**_2.30pm_ **

_Meeting 9am. My office. Bring Harry. Don’t be late._

 

He sighed and turned to find Harry looking at him, eyebrows raised in question. He turned his phone around so Harry could see it and after he’d read the text he looked back at Lou with a grimace. It definitely wasn’t going to be a pleasant meeting.

 

XXXX


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello beautiful people! Thanks so much for reading my little story. What started out as a silly short story has grown so much!
> 
> The boys finally face the music with Simon in this chapter - yikes!
> 
> Hope you enjoy xxxxx

Monday morning dawned grey and overcast, with rain pelting on the pavement and Louis couldn’t help but feel it was an appropriate backdrop for their impending meeting. This was not improved by their arrival at SuperNova, where a very sober Simon had summoned them into his office. Louis was feeling nervously apprehensive, so he could only imagine what Harry was feeling.

Harry had been quiet all morning, lost in his own thoughts and Louis was equally distracted. They hadn’t really talked about what might play out this morning and Louis was now lamenting that lack of preparation, thinking perhaps it may have helped in creating a united front.

He realised that Harry’s little rebellion, along with cutting his commitments short, may have serious repercussions for him and Louis felt the guilt at being responsible for that weighing on him heavily. If he had been a little more trusting and a little more patient, Harry wouldn’t have needed to resort to drastic action. He also wouldn’t have needed to out himself completely, could have ignored speculation and just let it die down naturally. He would not be surprised if Harry felt resentful toward him, it would only be natural really.

Harry sat next to him and had barely acknowledged his existence as Simon waxed lyrical about obligations and contracts and the possible dire consequences of his actions. He was staring at a spot on the wall, face impassive and unreadable as he appeared to digest every word Simon uttered with an intensity he had never shown before. Louis had no clue what he was thinking or feeling and this left him floundering, unsure where he stood – a feeling he despised. And while Louis understood that Harry was trying to deal with the aftermath of his actions and the possible repercussions on his future, he was selfish enough to want to be acknowledged, included.

He needed Harry to reassure him that they were OK, that they were in this together. He wanted so badly to reach across the sixty odd centimetres of divide, which currently felt like sixty miles, and grab Harry’s hand, anchor himself, anchor both of them and remind him that he was here. Instead, he sat motionless and listened to Simon with the weary resignation that he could do nothing to help. He had apologised to Simon, of course, but Simon didn’t seem interested in anything Louis had to say.

“The way I see it” Simon continued his tirade “is that we have several viable options here for damage control. Firstly, we can refuse to comment on your relationship with Louis, keep it private and out of the public eye, and thus limiting it’s potential to be detrimental to your career. The more discreet the better, and people will conveniently forget about this whole episode.”

 _So hide_ , thought Louis bitterly, _hide me away like a dirty little secret_. He glanced across and found Harry stiff in posture but otherwise devoid of expression.

“Another option is for you to public denounce the relationship and say that it didn’t work out. We can then arrange for a publicity relationship with a suitable actress or model – someone in need of publicity of their own, ensuring this is swept under the rug.”

_And no, not fucking likely, no chance in hell and kindly fuck off._

Louis and Harry both tensed at Simon’s words and Louis looked over at Harry, expecting him to voice a definite objection to that particular suggestion. To let Simon know he was out of line. To fight for them. To do anything at all! He didn’t return Louis gaze, though. He seemed to be mulling over Simon’s words and _wait, what_? Surely he wasn’t taking the suggestion seriously? Surely he would let Simon know that wasn’t an option.

Harry remained quiet. He didn’t utter a word of objection, not a single fucking word. Louis’ heart sank into his stomach.

Simon continued, re-engaging their attention.   “The only other option is that you fully commit to having your relationship in the public eye. This isn’t my recommended course of action, of course. This will have consequences I’m not sure you’re ready for. Firstly, I know you don’t want to hear this, but being gay still carries with it a stigma, especially when you’re a young, good looking singer like yourself Harry. Your marketability is drastically effected by coming out. I’m not saying that’s OK, I’m just saying that’s how it is. Being openly gay will cost you fans, it’s as simple as that. Bisexual, though, seems much more palatable by the public – I have no idea why, but it seems almost fashionable these days. In addition, every single tiny nuance of your relationship will be put under intense scrutiny. You will be judged and rumours will follow you wherever you go. The pressure on you both will be incredible and many a fledgling relationship has fallen apart under that kind of microscope.”

Those words seemed to impact Harry. He shifted in his seat, and looked down at his hands, wringing together in his lap. Louis could tell he was anxious and unnerved. Did he think so little of what they had? Did he have no faith in them whatsoever?

“You don’t have to decide right now” Simon went on “but I will need an answer in the next twenty four hours Harry, so we can control the fallout as much as possible.”

Louis wanted to tell Simon they didn’t need time to think, that there was no way in hell they were going to hide their relationship or worse, pretend it never happened, but he had to stay silent while Harry did nothing, said nothing, just nodded his head, looking at his hands. Louis was so furious at him, so disappointed and so hurt all at the same time. He felt the tears burning behind his eyes as he fought them back.

“Right, well, I don’t need to add that I expect you to behave with complete professionalism at all times while at the office. Also, as much as you may not like it Harry, Nick is one of my most experienced talent managers and I won’t grant your request that I replace him because that will simply add fuel to the rumour mill, so you will need to sort out your differences and make your peace because you _will_ be working together for the foreseeable future.”

Louis was biting his tongue then, because _no_. No, no, no, no, no. _Hell no_. He looked across at Harry, who was nodding submissively at Simon. No utterance of protest, just accepting all Simon had to say. Weighing his options. When Simon dismissed them with a plan to meet that afternoon to discuss strategy, Louis stood immediately, wanting nothing more than to run from the room before he broke down. Harry however, looked up at Simon, cleared his throat and spoke for the very first time since Simon had accepted his apology at the beginning of the meeting.

“I don’t think we need any time to discuss this, I’m ready to make a decision right now” he said, looking Simon squarely in the eye without batting an eyelid.

“Harry” Louis pleaded “can we at least talk about this? Please?” He knew his voice was wobbly with emotion and anger, but he hardly cared. Harry was making this decision without him and that was wholly unfair, considering this affected him too. He couldn’t believe Harry would have such little regard for his feelings, for his opinion, for his heart.

For the first time since they walked through Simon’s door, Harry looked over at Louis, his face turning soft with affection and a small smile curving his lips. “Lou, trust me, love.”

Louis wasn’t sure what to feel at those words, but he knew that he _wanted_ to trust Harry, so very much. He sat back down quietly and looked at Harry, nodding his acquiescence. Harry gave him another small smile and a single nod in return, before turning back to Simon, who was regarding him curiously and with on eyebrow cocked.

“I don’t need any time to think on your options” he began, speaking clearly and confidently, taking his time and making sure he enunciated every word “because there is no decision to be made. My relationship with Lou is a non-negotiable element in my life and is nobody’s business. I have no interest in taking part in any pretense, hypocrisy or dishonesty of any kind. I am well aware that there will be people who choose not to buy my record based on my sexuality, who will arrogantly judge me without knowing anything else about me. I have always known that - but this is a familiar prejudice I have dealt with all my life and I have made my peace with it long ago. I’ve known I was gay since I was ten years old – do you really think I haven’t become accustomed to dealing with the consequences of that? I am not afraid of having a smaller fan base as a result and I have no desire to play music for bigots, so better to weed them out from the start. As for dealing with the pressure on our relationship – I have complete faith in my love for Louis.” He turned to face Louis as he continued, smiling as he wiped away the tears streaming down Louis’ cheeks. “I have faith that we can make it through anything if we prepare ourselves and work together and I’m more than willing to put that faith to the test. We will decide who gets to judge us. We will decide how much of our lives the press can access and we will decide how our relationship is conducted. We may not always be able to control those things, but we can control how we deal with them.”

He turned back to Simon. “I’m not some little teenage heartthrob you can manipulate with fear tactics. I’m a man who is comfortable with who he is, who he loves and the music he makes. So in future, Simon, I would appreciate it if you refrained from insulting us with the type of suggestions you’ve made here today and trust me when I say that they will never be options we consider with any degree of seriousness.” He turned to Louis asking “Is there anything you’d like to add Lou?”

Louis shook his head, speechless. He had been doubting Harry once again, and once again, Harry had proved himself worthy of so much more. Louis vowed at that moment that he would place the same faith in Harry as he had placed in him. He would stop doubting and start trusting, because that’s the only way this was going to survive public scrutiny and because Harry deserved his faith, deserved his love and deserved his support.

“As far as Nick goes” added Harry “if he’s prepared to behave professionally from now on, I’m sure we can work together perfectly well.”

Simon had listened to Harry without interruption, chin resting on steepled fingers and eyes narrowed speculatively. He was quiet for a long few moments when Harry finished speaking and Louis was holding his breath as they waited for a reply.

Simon allowed a tiny smile to curve just the very edges of his mouth as he said “You really have no idea who you’re speaking to, do you? I could make or break your career with just a word Harry.”

“On the contrary Simon” Harry replied “I’m well aware of who you are, what you can do, I just choose to be true to myself at all costs.”

Simon’s smile grew then, spreading across his face “then I think you’ll do OK, Harry. There’s nothing I respect more than someone with principles – it’s so rare these days to find that. I will respect and work with your relationship and I expect the two of you to do your best to co-operate with the company. Now, I believe Mr Tomlinson has work to do and I’m sure you’d like to go and clear the air with Nick, Harry, so you’re both dismissed.” His face turned cold as he added “and for the record Harry, if you ever speak to me like that again, I won’t be as lenient next time.” He discharged them with a wave of his hand and they both exited quickly, Louis’ knees weak and legs wobbly as he followed Harry out.

When they exited the office, Louis didn’t stop, he just continued walking past Harry, grabbing hold of his hand as he did, pulling him along without slowing down until they reached Louis’ office. He tugged Harry inside and closed the door behind them, throwing Harry up against the wall and kissing him with very little finesse and too much passion. Harry giggled into his mouth as he returned the kiss.

“I take it my response met with your approval?” he teased.

Louis pulled back, looking tenderly into Harry’s face, his heart laid bare and his hands cradling Harry’s cheeks. “Harry, you had me worried when you weren’t saying anything and then BAM! You just….. just go and steal my heart all over again with that fucking incredible speech! Fuck! You are so wonderful – how did I ever get this lucky?”

Harry grinned, dimples on show and eyes sparkling. “Well, as I remember it, we got incredibly wasted one Friday Night and the rest is history!”

“Yeah” agreed Louis “most significant night of my life and I can’t remember a fucking thing, go figure!”

 

XXXX

 

“Whoa Mum! Slow down and take a chill pill alright! I did not _intentionally_ hide him from you – it was just early days and I wanted to see how things went before I dragged him up there to meet the family.” Louis rolled his eyes as Harry chuckled beside him on the couch.

After Harry’s performance on Ant & Dec had gone viral and the pictures surfaced of Harry and Louis leaving Louis’ apartment the next day, it had come to Jay’s attention that it was her son that was the subject of this media frenzy - well actually it had come to Lottie’s attention and she had informed Jay - who had phoned to voice her disgruntlement at being left out of the loop.

“I realise that Mum, but I didn’t know he loved me then………..well, yes, but……….to be fair I only asked him to move in with me _after_ that………..well we had some stuff at work………yes Mum. Yes, OK. Yes, see you Saturday then. OK Bye.”

Louis hung up and turned to Harry sheepishly. “Well, we kind of have to visit my family on Saturday for lunch. Sorry! Mum’s gone and got her knickers in a twist about not even being told I had a boyfriend and yeah…”

Harry shook his head “Tsk ,Tsk Lou, you’ve been a bad son, haven’t you?” he teased.

“How is it you haven’t had any cross calls from your mother?” Louis asked.

“Because my mum and my sister have known about you from the start” Harry replied “and also, I thought I’d better give them a heads up before I declared myself in love on national television! They do want to meet you though – hey! maybe we could head up there after your mum’s on Saturday , or maybe Sunday?” he added.

“Yeah Sure!” smiled Louis “I’d love to meet them.”

So this was how they found themselves driving north early on Saturday morning, bundled up against the cold and listening to Harry’s playlist of the greatest one hit wonders of all time.

“The impression that I get” by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones was currently playing, and they had worked their way through some hits such as “Macrena” by Los Del Rio, “Jump Around” by House of Pain and the truly heinous “Doctorin’ the Tardis” by The Timelords, a Doctor Who themed epic that was so bad it was kinda awesome.  They sang each one with equal gusto, giggling at the more absurd choices.

Louis was enjoying himself so immensely and he looked fondly across at Harry, still in awe that this boy was his. Harry smiled back at him, jiggling away in his seat and Louis leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “You are ridiculous!” he laughed.

“Don’t even try to pretend you’re not madly in love with me because we both know that’s a big fat lie Tomlinson!” he teased.

“Not even trying to fight it” grinned Louis. “You’re stuck with me Styles!”

“I think I’m pretty OK with that” murmured Harry, just barely audible over the ever popular “When I see you Smile” by Bad English.

 

XXX

 

Their arrival at Louis’ home was chaotic to say the least. They hadn’t even set one foot out of the car when they were accosted (there was no other word more appropriate) by four girls – two teens, who went to Louis’ side of the car and a smaller set of twins, who threw themselves at Harry. The four girls were all talking at the same time and all squealing excitedly.   Louis was greeting the older girls with the same enthusiasm they were showing him and seemed to be holding a conversation with both girls simultaneously about completely separate topics.

Harry was grinning ear to ear as his door opened and the smaller set of twins both jumped into his lap and started firing questions at him. He was completely charmed by these cute little hurricanes.

_“Who are you?”_

_“Are you the boy who loves our Louis?”_

_“What’s your name?”_

_“How old are you?”_

_“Your eyes are very pretty.”_

_“I love your curly hair, can I put a ribbon in it?”_

Harry stared at them for a moment before responding with a smile, “I’m Harry and yes, I’m the boy who loves your Louis. I’m twenty two years old and I’d love a ribbon in my hair, thank you.” The girls giggled and threw their arms around his neck.

“I like you – I’m Daisy!” said the one sitting on his right knee.

“I like you too and I’m Phoebe!” said the other one, perched on his left knee.

“Nice to meet you Daisy and Phoebe!” he replied enthusiastically.

“Alright girls!” interrupted Jay, shooing them out of the car. “Let the poor boy out of the car will you!” She flashed Harry a smile and added “I’m Jay, Harry, it’s lovely to meet you.”

Harry slid out of the car and Louis rounded the front with both older girls in tow.

“Harry” Louis said “I’d like you to meet Lottie and Fizzy – girls this is Harry.”

“Hiiii” smiled Harry “I feel like I know you both already, with the amount Louis talks about you!”

Both girls smiled shyly in response and murmured their greetings, unlike their sisters, who were already hanging of each of Harry’s arms and trying to drag him onto the house.

“ _C’mon_ Harry, you can sit at my princess vanity mirror and I’ll make your hair beautiful. It’s got lights and everything!” Daisy was exclaiming.

“Wow” answered Harry, just as enthusiastically “I’ve never seen one with lights! It sounds amazing!” He followed the girls up the path with a small backward glance and a lop-sided smile just for Louis.

As Louis returned the smile lovingly, Jay walked up beside him, putting her arm around him in a half hug and smiled down at his besotted face. “My baby is really in love isn’t he?” she grinned.

When Louis bashfully nodded and grinned back at her, she added “he’s adorable Lou – I can see why you fell for him! Now, we’d better get in there and rescue him before he gets a full face of makeup to go with that hairdo – Phoebe just got a new Disney makeup kit!”

“Oh Dear!” laughed Louis, following her inside.

There was apparently no stopping the twins as they gave Harry what they referred to as the “Full Princess Makeover”. Lottie and Fizzy decided they’d get in on the act too, creating a flurry of giggles as they worked together to create Harry’s new look. His hair was braided and clipped with ribbons and sparkly clips, sticking out from his head in tufts and spikes, curling at the ends. His face was a beautiful rainbow of colours, with blue and green eyeshadow, shimmer powder all over his cheeks and a pink lipstick on his lips. Lottie added some eyeliner around his eyes and mascara to finish off the look, making Louis stare with his mouth open for a good twenty seconds before shaking himself when Harry grinned at him.

Harry declared himself delighted with the new look and proceeded to wear it for the remainder of the afternoon, getting a touch up before coming to the dinner table, because “a princess always has to look her best” Phoebe informed him.

Louis teased him mercilessly, but was secretly thrilled that Harry had fitted in so well with his family. He was also more than a little turned on by the way the eyeliner and lipstick looked on Harry, his eyes taking on a glazed look every time they glanced over at Harry, watching Frozen with the girls, twins sitting in his lap and singing along with all of the songs.

Harry knew what those looks were about, having noticed Louis’ reaction to his makeover, and was being a smug bastard, smirking at Louis and batting his eyelids whenever he looked over at him. Louis was fighting a semi throughout the movie and when it was finished, he quickly nagged the twins off to bed, saying he wanted some grown up time with Harry when they protested. Lottie and Jay watched with great amusement as Louis fought the girls off determinedly so he could get Harry to himself. In the end, Harry agreed to read the twins a bedtime story so they’d go to bed and Louis tried not to sulk about it. He sat on the couch and studiously ignored the knowing looks Lottie and Jay were directing at him, feigning complete absorption in the television. Fizzy was asleep on the armchair next to him, oblivious to all the entertainment being had by Lottie and Jay.

When Harry peeped his head into the room and told Jay the twins were in bed, he went on to bid everyone goodnight, saying he was going to turn in for the night. The haste with which Louis jumped up from his chair, also declaring his exhaustion was apparently hilarious, as Jay and Lottie shared a look before dissolving into giggles and bidding them both goodnight.

When they reached Louis’ room – which they did in record speed due to the way Louis physically manhandled Harry up the stairs, pushing him from behind and ignoring his laughing protests – Louis practically threw Harry against the wall before assaulting him with his mouth, kissing him with all of the pent up frustration of the past four hours.

“Fuck Harry!” he panted “your lips in that pink lipstick was such a fucking turn on!” He dived back in, capturing Harry’s lips again, kiss hot and desperate.

Harry chuckled as he breathlessly declared that this behaviour wasn’t really fitting of a prince charming. “Want you to respect me in the morning Lou” he gasped, as Louis bit down on the flesh of his neck, sucking it soothingly afterward.

There was a soft knock at the door and Louis growled in frustration as Jay called out to him, saying she had extra blankets for them both. He stomped over to the door, swinging it open and raising his eyebrows at Jay, who promptly burst out laughing and handed him the extra blankets while informing him that he “had a little something on his face - in this general area” she’d added, waving her hand all over her lower face. She’d then walked off down the hallway, still giggling at the sight her son had made with his face covered in pink lipstick. Louis closed his door, turning to see Harry grinning back at him, lipstick smudged all over his lips and cheeks.

The sight made him giggle and he pounced on Harry again, wiping that grin from his face and replacing it with an open mouthed, gasping need. While sex was definitely off the table due to the close proximity of his family, they traded hasty blow jobs and lay on Louis’ bed afterward, Harry filing away the information that makeup was a bit of turn on for Louis and smiling to himself as he formulated ways to play with that in the future.

By the time Harry showered and washed all the makeup off, Louis was sound asleep in his bed, lips still pink and snoring softly. Harry grinned at his boy and turned off the light, climbing in next to him and spooning against his back, arms around his waist.

 

XXXX

 

Their departure was as loud and chaotic as their arrival had been. Jay was hugging both of them, whispering to Harry that he must take care of her boy. Harry smiled back and whispered “always” in return. The twins were each clinging to one of Harry’s legs and begging him to come back soon and Lottie and Fizzy both doing the same, hugging both Louis and Harry. They finally set off, Louis waving back at his family until he could no longer see them, before turning to face Harry and sighing.

“It’s so great to see them, but it’s definitely full on!” he laughed.

Harry chuckled and reached across to take hold of Louis’ hand. “They’re so wonderful Louis! I love them already!”

“They loved you too curly! I haven’t seen the twins like that before – they usually hang all over me, but I didn’t even get a look in! Mum, Lottie and Fizzy also kept going on about how lovely you are, you charmer, you took it to a whole new level back there! Got them all fooled!”

“What are you talking about?” exclaimed Harry “They just recognise prime boyfriend material when they see it, that’s all!”

Louis grinned at him. “Don’t get cocky now curly!”

XXXX

Their arrival at Harry’s home was a lot quieter and less chaotic, but no less welcoming. Louis immediately liked both Anne and her husband Robin and he and Gemma bonded over mutual teasing of Harry and embarrassing stories about his childhood. If Louis secretly showed Gemma the videos of the night they met while Harry was helping Anne in the kitchen, well nobody needed to know.

“I’ve never seen him like this with anyone before” Gemma commented.

“Like what?” asked Louis.

“Happy. Settled. In love?” Gemma shrugged. “It’s like he was holding back before - like he knew what he was looking for and he hadn’t found it yet. He was always a little bit reserved with the guys he’s dated, never really let anyone all the way in. It’s just strange to see the way he’s an open book with you.”

“It was the same for me, you know? Like, my Nan once told me before she died that I would know when I was in love because it felt like fireworks going off inside your skin. She said they never lied – that’s how you really knew. She was with my Grandad for almost sixty years before she died a month after him – I’m pretty sure from a broken heart – so I figured she knew what she was talking about. I was beginning to wonder though, until I met Harry. Then I knew, I knew she was right because holy shit! It was like fucking Chinese New Year on my nerve endings!”

Gemma chuckled along with him as he laughed and shook his head. “You’re alright Louis” she smiled.

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Quick warning that homophobia is mentioned in this chapter - only slightly, but mentioned.
> 
> Thanks again for reading - please excuse any mistakes, etc...
> 
> Much love to everyone who left Kudos/comments. It never gets old - such a thrill !! :) xxxxxx

Louis was horny. Like, ridiculously horny. He had literally been walking around half hard for most of the afternoon. It’s amazing how quickly he’d become accustomed to regular sex since Harry had moved in four months ago. Harry, who’d now been away for a total of seventeen days, meaning Louis was forced to survive on shower wanks and the odd skype sex session, leaving him feeling disgruntled and unsatisfied.

He needed Harry, needed his cock in him, needed his mouth on him, just _needed_ him.

The boys had been great at keeping him occupied and he really enjoyed spending time with them, but today was not a good day. He woke up unhappy and had been in a downward spiral all day. By the time he left work, he’d taken a raincheck on dinner with Liam and Zayn and suffered through the tube ride from hell, surrounded by the peak hour London masses and having forgotten his headphones. He was forced to stand, no seats free and was generally in a foul mood by the time he opened the front door to their flat. Only two more days and Harry would be back. Two more days and his suffering would be over.

He jumped straight in the shower, pulling himself off desperately under the stream with a soaped up hand. It was quick and unsatisfying and he was still grumpy as he threw on some boxers and heated up the leftovers in the fridge.

He was just finishing his dinner when Harry called.

“Hi Babe! How has your day been?” Harry asked.

“Terrible!” Louis sighed. “I know we said we’d try to always be positive where we could but Harry, I miss you! I’m _so horny_! I need proper sex Haz – not the self-help shit I’ve been surviving on!” He hated how whiney his voice was, how sulky he sounded, but he couldn’t help it.

“I know baby” Harry replied apologetically “I miss you too, but I’ll be home _very_ soon and I’ll totally make up for it, I promise.”

“I know, I’m sorry” Louis answered “it’s just hard sometimes, you know?”

“I do Louis, I really do – I miss you so much!”

They chatted about their days and Harry filled him in on the gigs he’d been doing – mostly smaller venues, but they had all sold out and Harry’s popularity was steadily growing, so he was really pleased and Louis was so proud of him. Harry and Nick had called a truce and while Louis hated every minute Harry spent with Nick, he had made his peace with it as much as he could.

The phone call was over too soon, as Harry said he had to take off and Louis was left staring at the TV with another semi building in his pants. _Oh for Fuck’s Sake! You’re not a teenager_ , he told himself. He settled back on the couch and determinedly gave his attention to a documentary by Richard Attenborough. He was definitely not wanking again tonight!

XXXX

He was totally wanking again tonight.

His frustration level was off the charts and it was now just after midnight. He’d held on for five and a half hours after Harry’s call, but he was fighting a losing battle, tossing and turning in his sheets, unable to sleep. This called for the big guns. He pulled his laptop onto the bed, grabbing his vibrator from the back of his top drawer, along with a bottle of lube.

He opened the videos of Harry that had seen him through more orgasms than he could count. He hadn’t watched them in a while, but he smiled softly as Harry’s face appeared on the screen, dimples on show and eyes alight. _God he was beautiful_!

He watched the on-screen Harry talk to him and coated his fingers with lube, running them slowly up and down his shaft, hissing with relief as he ran a thumb over the head and across the slit. He reached down further, sliding a finger inside himself and started opening himself up. By the time he got to three fingers he was moaning softly and awkwardly trying to reach further, but unable to get much relief. He grabbed the vibrator, looking at Harry’s face, listening to his voice and slid it inside himself, groaning at the waves of pleasure that washed over him with every vibration. The relief was palpable. He was sliding the vibrator in and out at a slow pace, wanting to drag this out as much as possible, prolong the feeling.

With every thrust inside, the vibrator brushed his prostate and he moaned as the sensation rippled outward, flowing to the very tips of his fingers and toes. His stomach clenched and he closed his eyes, groaning more and more loudly as his climax built. He was calling Harry’s name loudly now, imagining him here, thrusting in and out of him, and whispering dirty things in his ear, like he’d started doing of late.

He opened his eyes when the sound of movement in the hallway reached his ears. He lazily turned his head in that direction, eyes heavy-lidded as he took in Harry’s stunned form, frozen in the doorway. Louis’ brain registered Harry’s presence, but he was too far gone to care, unable to separate himself from the feeling of sheer ecstasy. He stared at Harry, glassy eyed and mouth open on a gasp, as Harry moved further into the room, eyes trained on Louis. As Louis felt his release coming, he threw back his head, closing his eyes and letting out a filthy sounding cry as he worked the vibrator in and out at a faster pace.

Harry stood motionless at the foot of the bed, hand to his own crotch, unable to take his eyes of the sight of Louis, sprawled on the bed, lost to his surroundings and screaming Harry’s name. It was the hottest thing he’d ever seen and he was throbbing in his pants, turned on and aching. He yanked his pants down and tugged at his aching cock furiously, gasping as he watched Louis break apart, shuddering with the force of his orgasm and working himself through the aftershocks until the vibrator became too much stimulation for his body to take. He slid it out and looked up at Harry, unable to even speak or smile, just watched him as he brought himself off, jerking as he spilled onto his own hand.

He collapsed onto the bed beside Louis, breathing heavily, and Louis rolled sideways to put his face in Harry’s neck, but was still unable to speak. They lay in silence, breath coming in heavy pants, as they came down. Louis was still jittery and his eyes were yet to focus and Harry thought he’d never looked more beautiful.

“So glad I came home early!” Harry eventually broke the silence, huffing out a low chuckle. “That was so hot Lou. You looked so beautiful laid out like that for me. Do you know what a turn on it was to know you were thinking of me while you did that?”

Louis had started to stir and he rose on one elbow to look down at Harry. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home early? I would’ve waited for you!” he scolded, still groggy and heavy eyed.

“Wanted it to be a surprise” laughed Harry “didn’t know the surprise would be on me!”

They both dissolved into the giggles then, laughing hysterically at the sight they must have made just a few moments ago.

“It’s good to have you home Haz” Louis said quietly as they lay in bed later.

“It’s good to be home” Harry replied.

They were both asleep in a matter of minutes, not even bothering to clean themselves up. This would be the first good sleep either of them had had in the last couple of weeks.

 

XXXX

 

“Look Harry!” cried Niall excitedly “you’re in Barb’s magazine!” He laughed as he handed over the copy of OK Magazine, showing a picture of Harry performing at BBC Radio One the week before. There was a stunning photo of Harry, smiling with his guitar as he chatted with the DJ and Louis was blown away as he always was when confronted with just how beautiful Harry was. The article praised his on-air performance and Louis was so proud of him. Niall and Harry thought it was a great joke, laughing at the idea of Harry being in OK Magazine and getting a kick out of the article.

Louis was just pleased that it was an article about Harry’s music and not their private lives – most of the articles these days were usually about the two of them and generally they weren’t very nice. He was growing used to the speculation and innuendo, but the fact that complete strangers felt justified in judging he and Harry still grated on him. He had to work really hard not to take it personally. Harry seemed to be able to just laugh it off, make a joke, but Louis struggled with anger and resentment toward the idiots writing these pieces. He particularly hated the ones that judged his appearance, making him feel insecure.

There was an article recently that had snapped a particularly unattractive photo of him and then proceeded to insinuate that it was hard to see what Harry saw in him. These were the ones that cut the deepest. Harry was widely adored due to his pleasant, happy nature and Louis was the snarky, decidedly unpleasant sidekick that everyone tolerated, but would rather see gone. It was a bitter pill to swallow at times.

The boys were all sitting around their lounge room after Harry had cooked them a Sunday lunch. These lunches had become a tradition and every Sunday that Harry was home, they would all congregate at Harry and Louis’ place and have a roast. Ed joined them sometimes as well, but Niall, Barb, Zayn and Liam were always there.

Barb had moved in with Niall the week before and they were completely loved up and disgustingly adorable at the moment. Louis was so happy for them.

Liam and Zayn were providing a stark contrast to that today. Zayn had been quiet all day and Louis was sure that something was up between himself and Liam. Liam had been overcompensating by being more engaged than normal, his chatter almost manic as he tried desperately to draw attention from the fact that Zayn was brooding.

When Louis got up to start the dishes, Liam offered immediately to help him, jumping up and following him into the kitchen. As they walked through the swinging door, Louis rounded on him straight away.

“Alright. Spill.” He said.

“What are…”

“Please don’t insult me by telling me you don’t know what I’m talking about Liam. Zayn’s been sulking all day and you’ve been like some fucking stepford husband on steroids! What’s going on?”

Liam seemed to deflate then, his shoulders visibly sagged and he sank onto one of the stools at the kitchen bar.

“We told our parents” Liam answered quietly, looking down at his hands, clasped in his lap. “Zayn’s parents were so lovely, so welcoming and just so supportive and ….……mine weren’t so much.”

“What do you mean?” Louis asked.

Liam looked up at Louis, tears forming in his eyes. “They told us to get out of their house Lou. Out of _my_ house – my childhood home! They wouldn’t even look at me – told me I’m not their son anymore.”

He broke down then, face in Louis’ chest as he held him close, rubbing his back.

“That’s so awful Liam! I don’t even know what to say - maybe they just need time, you know? Time to process the shock and just, come to terms with it?”

Louis really didn’t know what to say – his mother and family had been so incredibly supportive and he couldn’t imagine how hard it would have been coming out with no family support, or even worse, a withdrawal of their love.

Liam looked up at him, his features desolate. “I don’t think so Lou, I’ve never seen them so cold like that. They just looked right through me.” He wiped his face and let out a sigh. “Zayn’s been withdrawn ever since. I know he feels guilty, like he’s the reason they disowned me, but it’s not his fault! Their prejudice is the reason – not him! I need him closer, not withdrawing from me – I can’t get through this without him, you know? And he’s just pulling away, retreating into his shell and I feel like I’m out here adrift on my own.”

Louis hugged him tighter as a fresh batch of tears started falling. Over his shoulder he watched as Zayn slipped into the kitchen and stopped as he surveyed the scene in front of him. His eyes looked at Liam with such sadness, such misery, that Louis felt his heart ache for both of them. He expected Zayn to cross the kitchen and take Liam in his arms, but instead, he simply turned and walked back into the living room without a word.

He and Liam stayed in the kitchen, giving Liam a chance to calm down and collect himself, before they went out to join the others again. As they walked back into the lounge room, Louis announced loudly that he needed to walk the garbage down, not very subtly asking Zayn to give him a hand. Zayn raised his eyebrows at Louis, knowing full well he was being summoned so Louis could give him an ear bashing and making it plain he was none too enthusiastic about it. This stand-off continued as Louis simply stood staring at him expectantly until it became awkward, everyone else going silent, and Zayn sighed before standing to follow Louis into the kitchen to collect the rubbish.

They walked down the stairs in silence, both giving the other a chance to start the conversation. After it became clear Zayn was going to remain tight-lipped, Louis broached the subject with him.

“So. Liam told me what happened with his parents.”

“Figured that” answered Zayn curtly.

“OK. I get that you don’t want to talk about this Zayn, but you’re going to anyway because I’m not going to let this continue!”

“Let what continue?” Zayn asked lazily, playing dumb.

“Oh Fuck off Zayn! You know very well that you’re shutting him out – what the fuck is that about?” Louis was fast losing his temper now, angry that Zayn was behaving this way.

“It’s about self-preservation Lou!” Zayn exploded, stopping in the stairwell and stood glaring at Louis, tears forming in his eyes, face distraught. “What do you think? That Liam’s going to just kiss his family goodbye and choose me? Of course not! It’s only a matter of time until he realises that nothing is more important than family - that loving me isn’t worth losing them. He’ll go back to them and put this behind him, saying it was just a phase and then where will I be? I’ll be broken Lou – that’s where I’ll be! Fucking broken! I need to start preparing myself for the inevitable and the only way is to pull back. What else am I supposed to do?”

“You’re supposed to trust in him Zayn! Trust in what you mean to each other, trust he loves you enough – because he fucking does! Losing his family is tragic, but he knows he can’t control what they think or feel. He’s devastated, but he loves you – chooses you! He needs you now more than ever! He needs to know that whatever happens you will stand by him, _be_ his family and love him come what may. He needs to know that while it’s sad his family can’t accept you, you are worth it!”

“But what if I’m not? Worth it, I mean. What if he weighs it all up and finds that I’m not enough Lou? I don’t know if I’d survive that.” The tears were falling in earnest now and Louis wrapped his arms around Zayn, dropping his rubbish bag on the stairs.

“Oh Zayn.   You are enough. He loves you so much. You need to trust in that. Talk to him, tell him how you feel – trust me, I know from experience that communication is the key to making it work. All he knows at the moment is that right when he’s losing the people that mean the most to him, you’re pulling back as well and he feels alone. He needs you to tell him you love him, reassure him that you’re there OK?”

Zayn nodded, wiping his eyes and taking a deep breath. “I do Louis, I love him so fucking much it hurts!”

“Then don’t wait another moment to tell him” Louis answered softly.

They dumped the garbage and went back upstairs. Zayn’s eyes immediately found Liam’s anxious stare. He took in Liam’s hands, twisting nervously in his lap and his heart contracted in his chest. He went straight to Liam, collapsing on his knees in front of him, tears returning as he whispered “I love you” and buried his head in Liam’s lap. Liam smiled through watery eyes and pulled Zayn’s face up to look at him, hands on either side of his face.

“I love you too” he answered, kissing him softly.

A couple of beats of silence followed as everyone watched the scene unfold in surprise, before Niall piped up with “Fuck me! Why am I always the last to know what’s going on around here? What the fuck is going on you two?”

Everybody chuckled, Liam and Zayn giggling as they pulled apart. They then proceeded to tell the rest of the group what had happened with their families. The others were so upset, voicing their support and automatically gravitating to sit around them, offering the comfort of physical closeness.

“It’s awful, yeah” said Liam, turning his head to look at Zayn, who was looking back at him tenderly. He squeezed Zayn’s hand as he added softly “but we’ll be OK. We’ll get through it together.”

Zayn swallowed down the lump in his throat as he tightened his hand around Liam’s and nodded.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh you're not going to like me!! But Please stick with me - you know I'm a sucker for a mushy happy ending, so you'll have that to look forward to! I promise to update really fast so the pain isn't too bad for you LOL!
> 
> Just a short chapter - but it contains homophobic slurs - blink and you'll miss it, but nevertheless, please be warned. :)
> 
> Getting such a kick out of chatting to those sending comments and as always the kudos and comments are GOLD! So so so appreciated!
> 
> Have a great day :) xx

Louis’ withdrawal happened so gradually, Harry didn’t notice at first and neither did Louis. There was no stand-out moment that acted as the catalyst, rather a tapestry of moments that all came together to make an impact on him.

Initially, there was the occasional request by paparazzi at red carpet events to stand back so they could photograph Harry solo, the implication being that people didn’t want to see Louis by his side. Or perhaps he wasn’t good looking enough – might ruin the shot? Whatever the reason, the message was clear – _you don’t belong here_.

Afterward came the first magazine article showing unflattering pictures of Louis. When he saw them, his stomach sank despondently. He really did look crap lately didn’t he? Especially next to Harry, who always looked effortlessly cool and put together. The article wasn’t kind – it insinuated Harry could do better. Louis already knew that, _thank you very much_ , he didn’t need to be publically humiliated to get the message. When this article was followed by several others, much the same in content, Louis couldn’t help but let it get under his skin.

It became abundantly clear to him that nobody thought he was good enough for Harry. While there many other articles that were very positive, Louis’ attention was always on the negative ones and that took it's toll.

Harry, who chose not to bother reading anything printed about himself these days, was happily oblivious to Louis’ pain and Louis didn’t talk about it, preferring to internalise all of it. In addition, Harry’s schedule was ridiculous at present and he was so busy, he didn’t have a chance to notice the changes in Louis at first.

Louis was also fighting a burning resentment against Harry. This was completely unjustified, he knew, but he felt so _angry_ at Harry. Angry that he was so perfect, that the media always loved him, angry that didn’t notice how low it made Louis feel, how inadequate. _Just angry_.  Surely Harry could see what this was doing to him?  Maybe he was too busy being everybody's golden boy, while Louis was the boy everybody wanted to see gone from his life. 

As a result of these feelings of inadequacy, Louis became preoccupied over what he ate, adopting a healthy regime of mostly organic meat, fruit and vegetables. He cut out all processed food and sugar and exercised as much as possible. While Harry raised an eyebrow, he refrained from criticising what was essentially a healthier lifestyle, so he smiled encouragingly and praised Louis’ efforts, even if he thought it was a bit over zealous. Dieting had also made Louis grumpy and moody, which was a side-effect Harry was less than thrilled with. He was sick and tired of coming home after a log day of commitments and finding himself dealing with a bitchy Louis, who was snappy and sarcastic.

Louis then started obsessing over his appearance, determined not to leave the house without looking his best, lest he be photographed. He spent inordinate amounts of time grooming himself and fussing over what to wear, often changing outfits several times before being happy with how he looked. Harry became frustrated with this new fastidiousness, missing the Louis that gave no shits at all what anyone thought of him. He thought Louis was becoming a bit of a Diva and found it was all very irritating.

This irritation manifested itself in Harry distancing himself from Louis. Instead of rushing home to be with him, he found reasons to avoid their flat and stay out with friends instead – more often than not, it was Nick and Cara. As a result, Louis just felt worse. He felt like he’d been working so hard at improving himself so people thought he was worthy of Harry, _including_ Harry, and he didn’t even seem to see Louis these days, was more unattainable than ever.  Louis just seemed to annoy him.

Each became more and more upset with the other, sniping at each other and arguing over small things. The tension became almost too much to bear at times, tinged with sadness as they could both feel the other slipping away from them.

When Louis feigned illness to get out of an industry awards show for the first time, Harry was upset. When he cried off several other engagements, Harry was downright pissed off! He couldn’t believe Louis’ selfishness lately – all he ever thought about was himself these days. It was like he had no interest in Harry’s career at all anymore. Like he couldn’t give a shit. The press had already started speculating as to why Louis had been absent lately, the vultures circling, salivating at the idea of a juicy break-up for the headlines.

Louis simply dreaded putting himself out there, laying himself bare for the judgement of others. He was never going to feel good enough, so why bother trying?

Harry got dressed, preparing to face another red carpet alone, wanting to say something to Louis, but biting his tongue.

As he entered the lounge room, Louis couldn’t help but feel a tightening in his chest. Harry looked so stunning, so radiant. He pulled the duvet a little higher around him and turned back to the TV, hoping Harry wouldn’t notice how forlorn he was.

Harry watched as Louis looked at him and turned away without a word. He was beyond hurt, but he refused to beg for Louis’ attention.

“Don’t wait up” he spat out as he opened the door “I’m going out with Nick and Cara afterward.” He slammed the door closed before he could see Louis’ face crumple.

 

XXXX

 

“Louis!” exclaimed Niall excitedly on the other end of the phone “haven’t heard from you all week mate! What’s doing?”

“Ah, well nothing much Nialler” answered Louis “just wondering what you’re doing tonight?”

“Babs, Zayn, Liam and I were thinking of hitting that new club, Velocity? I would’ve asked you guys, but didn’t you have that charity thing tonight?”

“Harry did – I decided not to go. Can I tag along with you guys?” he asked.

“Absolutely! It’ll be great to see you man! We’ll swing by in a cab about nine and pick you up yeah?”

“Great – see you then mate!”

Louis hung up the phone and decided to shower and get himself looking as gorgeous as possible. If Harry was going to spend the night with Nick, then needed to remind him what he’s missing!

 

XXXX

 

He drew a steadying breath as he reached up his hand and knocked two times loudly on the door. _Oh well, too late to back out now_ , he thought. It was only a few moments before the door was swinging open and the lady on the other side of it looked at him with surprise.

“Zayn?” she enquired.

“Hello Mrs Payne” Zayn said quietly. He wasn’t sure if she would close the door on his face or not, so was prepared for just about anything. Mrs Payne’s surprise quickly turned to concern.

“Is Liam alright, is something wrong?” she asked, starting to panic.

“No! Everything’s fine – well, I mean, it’s not fine, but Liam is OK” he paused before adding “well, like, physically he’s OK.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she replied.

“May I come in Mrs Payne? Just for a moment, I just wanted to say something. After that, you never have to see me again if that’s what you want. Just, please! I need to talk to you about Liam” he pleaded.

He could see she was waging an internal battle – she didn’t want to let him in, but Liam was her son and despite all, she did love him.

“Mr Payne isn’t here – I, I don’t think he’d want me to let you in, Zayn.”

“Please Mrs Payne! It will only take a few minutes!” he was begging now, eyes glassy and something seemed to give in her as she opened the door with a curt nod.

“Only for a minute” she answered.

When they walked inside, Zayn got straight to the point. He didn’t know how long he had before Mr Payne came home, but he’d rather not be there when he did.

“Look, Mrs Payne, I came here because I want you to know how devastated Liam is. He is so distraught! You guys are his family, his parents, and he never thought in a million years that he’d not have your love and support. Taking that away from him has taken a very heavy toll on him. I’m begging you, please don’t punish him for falling in love!”

Mrs Payne was visibly struggling to hold back her tears as she replied “we love our son – of course we do. But we can’t condone this choice, it’s sinful. The very thought of it makes me sick to my stomach!”

Zayn felt like he’d been slapped, but he continued on, determined to say everything he came to say.

“Mrs Payne, I never imagined myself falling in love with a bloke, we both fought this attraction in the beginning. But I’m not sorry it happened. How could I be sorry when Liam makes me so happy? I love him, I love him more than anything in my life and I will spend every day cherishing him and looking after him. Isn’t that worth something? Isn’t that what you’d want in a potential partner for your son – someone who loves him endlessly, who only wants his happiness? Liam has made my life so much richer, so much brighter, simply by being in it. He makes everything better. He’s such an amazing human being, but I’m sure you already knew that. He’s the same wonderful loving person, who happened to fall in love with a man. He didn’t make this choice – you don’t choose who you fall in love with! It just happens. And it happened to us! My family loves Liam, they love him and they’re so happy we found each other. But I can understand if you can’t accept this, and I understand if you never want to see me again – all I ask is that you don’t punish Liam, don’t take your love away from him. Even if it means I can’t ever be part of his family – I don’t care! I just don’t want him to have to live without you in his life. It will kill him. He should never be made to choose between the people he loves.”

When he finished speaking, Mrs Payne was quiet for a moment before she looked at Zayn with misty eyes and said “you really do love my son, don’t you?”

“With my whole heart and soul” he answered immediately.

“Well, well” said a snide voice behind him “isn’t this just cosy, eh?” Mr Payne entered the room, striding across to Zayn. “What do you want Faggot? Come to borrow a dress from my wife ’ave you?” He grinned at his own joke.

“Geoff, stop it!” said Mrs Payne softly “Zayn just called by to speak to us, there’s no need to be rude.”

“Yes there is Karen! They were told to stay out of my house, to never return. Did you not listen boy?” he pushed Zayn’s shoulder.

“Please Mr Payne” Zayn pleaded “Please I just…I just needed to speak with you about Liam.”

“Get out!” Mr Payne shouted at him, pushing him again.

Mrs Payne was crying openly now, trying to pull her husband away. She was murmuring an apology to Zayn and told him to go quickly. Zayn turned and left as quickly as he could, closing the door behind him. He could hear Geoff shouting at Karen for letting him in and he wondered if he’d done the right thing. But he had to try – and for just a moment, he’d seen Karen’s face soften as she realised how much Zayn loved Liam. At least now she knew – whether it would help or not was another story!

He was breathing heavily, his stomach in knots. He’d had to use every ounce of courage to go there today and he was relieved it was over. He just hoped it had achieved at least something.

 

XXXX

 

“Whoohooo!” Louis yelled as he danced with his hands in the air, the bass thrumming through his body as he moved. He was happy. Really happy. Happier than he’d been for the past two months, that’s for sure.

He was also ridiculously drunk, which may or may not have something to do with how happy he felt.

He was dancing with Niall and Barb, and had one of his arms slung around Liam’s neck, dragging him along for the ride, which was quite a feat since Liam was at least a head taller than him, but they made it work anyway. Zayn was sitting in their booth, having been quiet all night, just fondly shaking his head as he took in the train wreck that was his friends – a drunken assortment of limbs moving haphazardly in every direction creating a sweaty, heaving mass in the middle of the crowded dance floor.

They’d been drinking heavily and were really cutting loose. Louis knew that people had recognised him, but he didn’t even care. Tonight was about his wonderful mates, who he loved. Did he mention he loved his mates? Because he did. He loved them so much. He loved Harry too. He wished Harry was there, but he was out with Nick - and why was he still thinking about this? It must be time for more shots.

“More shots!” he yelled and the others cheered enthusiastically as they made their way over to the bar to order some more shots.

After they downed the shots, they immediately made their way back onto the dance floor and proceeded to throw themselves into the action. At one point they were separated but came back together as they shifted through the crowd. Louis was too drunk to care about anything but the beat and the others weren’t too much better. He just threw his arms up and swayed on the spot with his eyes closed. He felt someone move up behind him, placing their hands on his hips and dancing along with him. It didn’t feel like there was any sexual intent behind it, so Louis simply swayed along, enjoying the dancing. Liam is close by anyway, he thinks, so it was safe to let go.

 

XXXX

 

As Harry followed Nick into the club, Nick halted, Harry running straight into his back.

“Hey! What’s the hold up?” he chuckled.

He came up beside Nick to find him staring at the dance floor, his face shocked. He followed Nick’s gaze and his eyes fell upon Louis – his Louis, who was apparently too ill to accompany him out tonight – dancing, some bloke pressed up behind him, hands on his hips. Louis’ eyes were closed and he was smiling.

Harry felt like he’d had the wind knocked out of him. He was struggling to breathe, eyes locked on Louis, who was still oblivious to his presence. It was like a knife to the heart to know that Louis would prefer to be out grinding on some stranger than spend time with him. That he’d lied straight to Harry’s face about it. Where they really that messed up?

“Thought he was sick?” asked Nick bluntly.

“That’s what he said” answered Harry, anger flowing through him now. He was hurt, humiliated and absolutely furious. He knew without doubt this little night out would be all over the tabloids tomorrow and he felt so betrayed.  His stomach was threatening to return the dinner he'd consumed earlier, the sight of Louis with another guy almost too much to bear.  He looked down at his chest, almost expecting to see blood pouring from a gaping wound.  It felt as though his chest had been ripped open.  

“What do you want to do?” asked Nick “do you want to confront him, or leave?”

“Let’s get out of here” replied Harry “I don’t need to fucking see that!”

As they left the club and hopped in a taxi, Nick asked “where to?”

“Can I stay at yours tonight?” asked Harry. “Don’t want to face him tonight. If he even comes home, that is..” he added miserably.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it all seems shitty right now, but it's Haz & Lou we're talking about - you know they'll work it out! LOL :)  
> Next update will be fast - tomorrow if I can :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OMG So much for the 2 chapters of fluff I had originally planned this fic to be!
> 
> Thought I'd better smash this next chapter out quickly especially for Sassy_Boo_Bear so you didn't go to bed sad! LOL  
> Now I can finally get to bed!!
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and Kudos and for taking the time to read my story. :) xx

They all stayed at Niall’s place after the club and it was a definite squeeze, but it was still preferable than going home to an empty flat. Zayn and Liam had claimed the couch, so Louis had to suffice with the armchair cushions on the floor and a duvet that had seen better days. It wasn’t the most comfortable of sleeps and he woke with a furry mouth and a definite crick in his neck, as well as a pounding headache. On the whole though, he was glad to be surrounded by his friends. It was comforting. He had needed last night – needed to feel like himself again, instead of Harry Styles’ handbag.

His friends always made him feel special. As he looked over at Liam, spooning Zayn on the couch, he felt a rush of affection for them both. He also felt a pang of longing for Harry. He had missed him so much lately - even when he was close by physically, he felt miles away. He knew Harry was slipping away from him and he felt powerless to stop it from happening. He’d spent more time with Nick these days than Louis. Even Cara had been spending most of her time with Harry, rather than Louis. He knew he shouldn’t be jealous, but he couldn’t help it.

He would have to face Harry today, tell him how he was feeling, see where they stood. He couldn’t let this drag on any longer. First though, he needed to pee. And maybe throw up, he wasn’t sure.

Niall was stomping down the hallway when he was heading to the bathroom.

He grunted at Louis, which was his way of communicating pre-coffee and kept walking into the kitchen to put the kettle on.

By the time Louis returned to the lounge room, the three boys were sitting round with a coffee and talking quietly. The conversation came to an abrupt halt when Louis entered the room and he could feel the shift, feel the tension. Niall broke it as he usually did.

“Kettle’s boiled Lou – I would’ve made your tea but you’re such a fussy bastard I just thought, fuck it! He can make his own!” He chuckled before groaning and putting a hand up to his aching head. “Oh my God” he moaned “I think I drank my body weight in alcohol last night.”

“I think we all drank your body weight in alcohol last night Niall” agreed Liam. “I haven’t drunk like that in ages” he added pensively. “I guess I was trying to forget for a while that my parents were fucking bigots, but it never really works does it?” He had tried for a light tone but didn’t quite pull it off.

Zayn reached over and squeezed Liam’s hand, feeling a little niggle of guilt that he had kept his visit yesterday a secret. But really, what would be gained by telling him?

“No” replied Louis sadly “it doesn’t work.”

“Louis?” Zayn hedged “we let it go last night, but, do you want to talk about what’s bothering you? You know you’ll feel better if you do.”

“Yeah, I probably will” sighed Louis. “But I need tea first, so I’ll be back in moment.” He plodded off to the kitchen, returning a few moments later with his steaming mug of tea and proceeded to offload everything that he’d been going through with Harry. It was such relief to get everything off his chest, tell someone how he was feeling and he felt silly for not doing it sooner.

Liam must’ve read his thoughts, asking “why didn’t you talk to us sooner Lou?”

Louis shrugged, “I guess, well, I thought if I just concentrated on fixing myself – making myself better somehow, that it would fix everything, but Harry keeps withdrawing more and more and I don’t know what to do.”

“You talk to him you stupid fuckhead!” answered Niall, rolling his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You comm-un-i-cate. You share. You…”

“Alright Nialler, point taken!” Louis laughed. “I’m intending to talk to him when I get home OK?”

They switched to chit chat then, laughing about the more absurd parts of their night and generally reminiscing.

After about half an hour, Barbara wandered up the hallway, long hair sleep messed and eyes heavy. She was wearing an old t-shirt of Niall’s and a pair of his undies and even Louis was able to appreciate how truly stunning she was.

She smiled at Niall softly, eyes only for him as she croaked out “good morning all.”

Niall had been staring at her since she came into the room – gaping actually would be a better term to describe his face, slack-jawed and just stunned into silence as he took in the sight of her.

“Fucking hell Babs, you’re so beautiful!” he proclaimed reverently, his voice almost a whisper.

The smile she responded with lit up the room and Niall grinned back at her before saying loudly “what do you say we get married love?”

The three boys and Barbara all stared at him, eyebrows raised in shock. That was literally the last thing anybody expected to come out of Niall’s mouth. They waited for a few beats in silence, to see if he was serious, but his face never changed, he simply grinned at Barbara, waiting expectantly for her answer.

“Is that an actual proposal?” she asked, smiling lazily “or are you just really hot for me right now?”

Niall threw back his head and laughed. “No baby, I’m fucking serious! You and me, we’re made for each other! I can’t ever see myself loving anyone the way I love you, so, why the fuck should we wait? What do you say girl, will you marry me?”

Barbara shrugged as she answered, just as casually as Niall had proposed “of course!” before plopping into his lap and kissing him senseless to the chorus of cheering from the others. As they pulled apart she added “only you could propose on a whim, with a hangover and morning breath, and still pull it off! I fucking love you Niall!”

 

XXXX

 

Louis arrived at the flat, running up the stairs and opening his door, a huge grin on his face. He couldn’t wait to tell Harry the news, fight or no fight, this was great news and he knew Harry would be happy.

“Harry?” he shouted as he entered the flat, kicking his shoes off and heading toward the bedroom.

“Haz, you’re never going to guess….” As he passed the lounge room, he noticed Harry was sitting silently on the couch, fully dressed, so he stopped dead, changing his direction.

“There you are, you’ll never…” is voice trailed off as he spied the suitcase at Harry’s side and the cold look on his face.

There was a few moments of silence when they simply stared at each other before Harry spoke.

“I see you made a full recovery” he bit out. “What a medical marvel you are.”

Louis had the grace to look sheepish, eyes sliding away from Harry’s stony glare. “Uh, yeah, look about that Harry, we need to talk…”

“Did you sleep with him?” Harry interrupted.

“What? Sleep with who?” asked Louis, confused.

“I see” sighed Harry “so we’re going to do this the hard way are we? Well let me make it simple and spell it out. The guy you were dancing with at Velocity last night – did you go back to his place? Is that where you’ve been? Because if the tabloids are about to run that little gem, I’d like to be prepared.”

Louis reared back like he’d been slapped. “Are you fucking serious? You think I was out shagging some random last night? That I would do that to you? Fuck you Harry!”

“You haven’t answered my question” Harry pressed.

“Yes I have you bastard! I can’t believe you think I would do that! How dare you? You don’t know me at all do you?”

“No I don’t Louis! Because the boyfriend I _thought_ I knew wouldn’t treat me like shit for months, then cry off spending the night with me by lying to me that he’s sick, only to get shitfaced at a club and grind all over a stranger!” Harry was yelling now, voice breaking. “You tell me what I should’ve thought of you when I walked into that club last night and saw what I saw!”

“Hang on! _I’ve_ treated _you_ like shit?” asked Louis incredulously. “I’ve done nothing but spend months trying to be the type of boyfriend you deserve and what did I get? No ‘thank you Louis’, no ‘I appreciate the extra effort’, all I get is a fucking boyfriend who is never here – even when he is! You checked out of this relationship months ago Harry!”

“The kind of boyfriend I deserve?” replied Harry “because what I got was a moody, whining, selfish diva of a boyfriend, who never wanted to do anything with me anymore! I’m not the one who checked out Lou - you are!”

Louis reeled back, shocked by Harry’s words. He was speechless at how Harry had just described him. “But…”

Harry stopped and took a deep breath before adding in a more civil tone “I don’t want to argue Louis. I’m tired and I just can’t do this right now. I’m staying with Cara for a while. You can reach me on my mobile phone if you need me. I’d appreciate it if you kept tight lipped to the media until we work some things out.” He picked up his suitcase, walking out the front door without looking back.

When the door closed behind him, Louis stood in stunned silence for what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes, before sinking to his knees on the carpet and letting the tears come. He cried, sobbed inconsolably for so long he felt like he was completely empty. He curled up into a little ball on the rug and stared in front of him, unable to move and unwilling to try.

After everything Louis had done to make himself better – more improved – Harry had still thought of him as a selfish boyfriend. Nothing he could do would ever be good enough. _He_ would never be good enough.

He didn’t know how long he lay there for, but it felt like forever. His body started aching from laying on the cold wooden floor, the rug no cushion for his weary joints. He finally pulled himself up, exhausted from crying, and walked into the kitchen, putting the kettle on. He wasn’t even sure he wanted tea, but he really didn’t know what else to do. He decided he’d do what he always did when he didn’t know what to do – he called Zayn.

 

XXXXX

 

They sat in the lounge room. He, Zayn and Liam, discussing what do next.

“I can understand how he’d be upset Lou” reasoned Liam “I mean, you tell him you’re sick and pull out of the Gala and then he just happens to turn up at a club to see you there, which would’ve been bad enough – but dancing with another guy? That’s pretty awful for him.”

Louis sighed. “I get that Liam, and I was going to apologise to him – explain things. But he just started in on me about being a selfish moody diva and accusing me of sleeping with that guy and I guess I just saw fucking red! I mean, I’d been struggling for months, trying my best to make things right and he just, just, accuses me of checking out! I was completely _in_ this thing – I was changing everything for him, trying to make myself better!”

“Maybe he didn’t want a different you” said Zayn quietly “maybe he was happy with the old you.”

“Well now he doesn’t want any version of me” replied Louis sadly.

“He wouldn’t be this upset if he didn’t care Lou! I can’t believe after all of the trouble not communicating caused you last time, you chose to do it again!” scolded Liam.

“You have to fix this Lou” Zayn added “you have to go to him and fight for him – like he did with you when the tables were reversed and you’d bailed on him. He deserves that. He deserves the truth. Whatever happens after that, well, at least it wasn’t based on a lie.”

“I know you’re right, but, I hardly know where to start” replied Louis.

“Start with I’m sorry, and go from there” Liam suggested with a soft smile.

 

XXXXX

 

“He doesn’t want to see you Louis” said Cara.

“I know he doesn’t” answered Louis “but Cara, remember when he didn’t take no for an answer from me, when I wouldn’t let him explain himself? Remember how you helped with that? Could you please help me to do the same now?” he pleaded.

“I don’t know Lou – he told me what you did.”

“He’s wrong! I didn’t cheat on him – it was all a misunderstanding! Please Cara! I need to explain – if he wants me gone after that I’ll go willingly, but I can’t have him thinking a lie!”

Cara seemed to deliberate for a few moments before she slid the door open, allowing him to slip inside. He kissed her cheek and whispered “thankyou.”

“Don’t make me regret it!” she whispered back.

He walked into the living room and Harry looked up from the TV, surprise at Louis’ presence showing on his features before they closed off and he turned back to the TV.

“I told you I couldn’t do this now, Louis” he stated wearily.

“I know you did, but I think you should give me a chance to explain – just like I gave you after the Nick photos. I think it’s only fair, don’t you?”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t, I just said I didn’t want to do it now.”

“Well I couldn’t let you go on another minute thinking I cheated on you, so you are going to hear me out and afterward I will go back home and leave you in peace alright?”

Harry just nodded, eyes moving over Louis as he moved across the room toward Harry.

“Firstly, I am so sorry I lied to you. Although, to be fair, I hadn’t planned on going out when I cried off the Gala. Going out was a knee jerk reaction to you saying you were going out with Nick and it was only later, when I spoke to Niall and he asked me out with them, that I even entertained the idea. I was so angry at you Harry and I’m sorry. But I didn’t cheat! Yes, I danced with some guy, but Liam was right there, so were Niall and Babs. Zayn was watching too and he would’ve kicked my arse if I’d been doing anything wrong. I appreciate what it looked like, but you know how things can appear different than they are.”

Harry was quiet for a minute before nodding almost imperceptibly. “But how is it that you pull out of the Gala and you’re the one that gets to be mad? I was furious! I was also hurt Louis, I mean, what was that even about?”

Louis looked down at his hands, wringing them anxiously and letting the tears gathering in his eyes fall. He reached down to his back pack and pulled out a scrapbook, handing it wordlessly to Harry. Harry took hold of it, frowning in confusion.

“This. This is the reason. This is the also the reason for me making so many changes over the past few months.”

“What?....” Harry looked down at the scrapbook in front of him, opening the cover and skimming over the first of many magazine articles and printouts from the internet about Louis. As he read, he realised how awful they were. He could see the sentences Louis had highlighted, the ones outlining the many ways he didn’t measure up. Beside each of these were scrawled notes on ways to improve, such as diet/exercise and dressing sharper, and Harry’s eyes flooded with tears as he realised what Louis had been going through. He looked up at Louis, whose face was a mask of misery and he felt such sorrow for the boy in front of him, for the damage that these articles had caused him – caused _them_.

“So, all of the dieting and exercise and taking so long to get ready and choosing an outfit – it wasn’t you becoming vain, it was…”

“Me trying to be worthy of you – to be better, improved.”

“Oh Lou” Harry sighed sadly “you are the best person I know – you don’t need improving! You are beautiful and smart and funny and you are everything I want, already. I’m not looking for a version of you that the media thinks is acceptable – I want the you I fell I love with! Those idiots don’t know anything about us – about why I love you!”

“I’m sorry” Louis sobbed. “I just - I was reading these so much that I guess I couldn’t help it. I didn’t mean to withdraw from you, I just didn’t know how to handle it, you know? And I was so angry and resentful toward you – even though it wasn’t your fault they were writing those things. I can’t explain it. I guess I didn’t talk to you about it because I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that nobody thought I was good enough for you in case you started feeling the same way!”

Harry threw his arms around Louis then. “You stupid fucker Lou! How could I ever feel that way? I spend most of my days wondering how I got so lucky! We agreed that we weren’t going to let the media get to us and you didn’t stick to the rules, sweetheart, did you?”

Louis’ heart skipped a beat at Harry’s use of the endearment and he looked up, placing a palm on Harry’s cheek.

“How do you put up with me Haz?” he asked softly.

“I put up with you because I can’t imagine my life without you! Do you know how fucking miserable I’ve been the last twenty four hours? Oh my God Lou! You have to talk to me, you can’t keep shutting me out! We’re a team, you know? I need you to trust me when I say that you’re everything to me – I don’t need anything else from you than who you are. I love you.”

“I love you too Haz” he replied quietly. “I promise, I’ll talk to you about everything from now on.”

Harry leaned and kissed his tear stained cheeks, one by one, before moving to his lips and placing a soft kiss on them. “Thank God, because I can’t go through this again Lou – my heart can’t take it.”

He kissed Louis again and as he pulled back, Louis replied “never again Haz, I promise!”

Harry leaned in for another kiss when Louis stopped him. “Oh, and I didn’t get a chance to tell you the news this afternoon, but Niall and Barb are engaged!”

“Holy Shit!” Harry grinned “I really have missed everything that’s been going on!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be two days away as it's a bit longer than these two and needs some editing. Thanks for sticking with me peeps xx


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry - I know I said two days, but my excuse for taking four is the beautiful beach weather we are having!! Had to spend a couple of days on the beach working on my tan! LOL
> 
> Anyway it's here now - the final chapter! Can't believe this was only meant to be two chapters long in the beginning!
> 
> As usual, please forgive any errors and a HUGE thank you to all for the comments and Kudos. Can't tell you how much it means to get them!
> 
> My new fic will be up in a day or two - please give it a read if you can :) xx

**_7.05pm_ **

_5 mins away baby – can’t wait to see u Lou!_ _xxxx_

**_7.06pm_ **

_Me too H – see u soon!!!!!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

 

Today had been the longest day of his life. Literally. Like, he’s pretty sure there were a few extra hours slipped in there because there is no way twenty four hours could take this long!

It had been a very protracted six months, with lots of small trips for both of them with work commitments. Louis had been incredibly busy promoting Five Seconds of Summer. Their album had done well and Louis had them do a similar tour to the one Harry had done, to radio and TV shows country wide. He was so proud of how well they’d done and was assisting in the planning of their first tour.

He’d come back for just two days before Harry had had to leave for a trip to France, Italy and Germany. That had been four weeks ago. It hadn’t been easy, but their determination to make it work had seen them through and they had survived. Barely.

And now Harry was almost home. Louis could feel the anticipation buzzing in every nerve ending in his body. He was worried he might actually spontaneously combust and die before Harry got to him. He had busied himself showering and making sure the flat was spotlessly clean and he had made sure a lasagne (store bought – he isn’t Jamie fucking Oliver alright?) was in the oven, warming. There was literally nothing left to do now but pace the lounge room floor – a perfectly valid choice of pastime.

The sound of the key in the lock drew his attention and he flew toward it - just as Harry pushed it open. He didn’t really register for a split second that the door had hit him in the face, just felt himself go breathless as the pain shot up his face and nose. The metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth and more blood poured down his nose. Harry stood frozen for a moment before springing into action, his face horrified.

“Oh my God! Lou I’m so sorry, shit, fuck!” He pulled Louis into the kitchen, leaning him over the sink as he grabbed a clean tea towel and rolled it up. He placed it gently under Louis’ nose to catch the blood. The flow had slowed down but was still leaking. Harry guided him to a kitchen chair and sat him down, grabbing himself a chair and pulling it up right in front of him. He leaned over and placed his head on Louis’ lap and Louis reached his free hand down to run it through Harry’s hair.

“Oh my God – I’m so _so_ sorry Louis!”

Louis huffed out a gurgling nasally giggle and Harry lifted his head to look at him.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, smiling.

Louis giggled again. “Just not how I had imagined your homecoming! Thought it’d be a bit more romantic, you know? Less blood, more snogging, that sort of thing.”

Harry found himself giggling along as he replied “yeah, but we’ve never really done things like normal people have we?”

He reached up and carefully tugged the hand holding the towel away from Louis’ nose and inspected the damage. “The blood stopped fairly quickly, so I don’t think it’s broken. Probably gonna hurt like a bitch for the rest of the night though.”

Louis groaned “But I had such plans for this evening Haz! I was going to woo you with Lasagne, then waste no time getting you into bed. Actually, truth be told, considering the state I was in after four weeks apart, you probably wouldn’t have seen that Lasagne until much later in the evening.”

“You made Lasagne?” asked Harry disbelievingly.

“ _Harold!_ I imply that I would’ve been unable to make it through dinner without dragging you off to bed and shagging your brains out and the part of that story you focus on is whether or not I cooked a lasagne?! Are you for real?”

“Well yeah, but, if you did cook and our kitchen has remained intact, then that would be truly incredible – and noteworthy!” He chuckled as Louis tried to swat at him.

“I feel there’s not nearly enough sympathy for me here Harry! I have suffered horrific injuries in the name of love!” he complained indignantly.

“You mean as a result of the fact that you were too impatient to let me get in the door before you tried to jump me?” Harry laughed, grabbing at Louis’ swinging hands and holding them both as his look turned fond. “I love you Lou. I’ve missed you so much.”

It didn’t matter that Harry told him that so often these days, it still made Louis’ heart skip a beat. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to it, this feeling of utter enchantment he felt every time he looked at Harry.

“I love you too Curly” he said affectionately.

They sat or a moment, just smiling at each other. It was Harry that broke the silence eventually.

“Well, since this hasn’t exactly gone to plan – how about we make a new plan? Why don’t you go wash your face while I dish up some Lasagne, because it smells great and I’m starving! Then we’ll put on some cheesy romantic comedies and curl up on the couch together with a bottle of wine?”

Louis grinned back at him. “Sounds brilliant. I’ll be right back.”

When he walked into the bathroom, he caught sight of himself in the mirror and cringed. He’d just been sitting there giving his boyfriend starry eyes and soft looks while the lower half of his face made him look like a vampire who’d just had a big feed! Lovely. He smiled to himself as he realised that Harry hadn’t even batted an eyelid – had still looked at him like he was the most beautiful thing in the room. He really was the luckiest boy in the world.

 

XXXX

 

“What’s up with your face?” was how Niall greeted him the following day.

“Don’t know what you mean” answered Louis dismissively, even though his face was still mildly swollen and a lovely dark bruise had formed across his nose.

“Oh bloody hell!” exclaimed Niall “it’s not some fucking sex injury after your big reunion last night is it? Because if it is, I don’t want to hear about it!”

“I think you do Niall” Louis teased “I think that’s why you are talking about it – because you love to hear about our sex life. You’d _love_ to hear about how I couldn’t wait to ….”

“Stop there! Stop now or I swear I’m leaving – no friendship is worth having to listen to that!”

“Hey!” protested Liam, who was one of the friends they were all there to help. “Are you saying that a few details of the porn film that is their lives would be a deal breaker for our friendship? Because that’s piss weak Niall!”

“I don’t know Li” Zayn piped in “Not sure I’d want to hear about it either, to be honest. I can see where Niall’s coming from. Plus, he’s straight, so it’s even worse for him.”

“Thank you Zayn, for understanding” Niall replied.

“I’m with Liam on this one” added Louis “and FYI, _everyone_ should want to hear about our sex life – it’s fucking awesome!”

Harry, who’d been quietly chuckling at this exchange decided to put an end to Louis’ teasing.

“Just to put everyone’s mind at ease – since Louis’ impatience to get to me last night was his downfall and caused an accident that _negated_ actual sex, there’s not really much to tell!

“Harry! Your traitorous bastard!” Louis exclaimed as the other boys laughed.

“Oh my God Louis!” laughed Niall “Now I totally want to hear the story! That’s fucking classic!”

Louis shot him a dirty look before looking around the room and saying “right, well, let’s get these boxes packed, shall we?”

They were packing Zayn’s flat up so he could move in with Liam and Louis was so happy for them both. Liam’s parents still hadn’t come around, but his relationship with Zayn had gone from strength to strength. Liam was fairly buzzing with excitement that Zayn had agreed to move in with him.

By the time lunch time rolled around, they had almost finished everything in the kitchen and lounge room, along with some of the bedroom.

There was a knock at the door and Zayn opened it to find Barb, smiling back at him and holding up a bag with some beer in it and balancing pizza boxes on her other hand.

“Thought you boys might be hungry?”

Niall came out of nowhere to push Zayn aside and take Barb’s face in his hands, kissing her soundly on the lips.

“Have I told you how much I fucking love you?” he asked.

Barb laughed and passed him the pizza boxes. “Yeah you have Horan – but it always seems to happen after I bring you food. Strange coincidence that!”

 

They sat and had lunch, still teasing Louis about his injuries and filling Barb in on the story behind it. Louis took it all rather good naturedly, all things considered. They finished packing the rest of the unit and left it all for the removalists for the following morning, heading back to Liam’s place for dinner. They were all exhausted after the busy day – especially Harry, who’d been non-stop for the past four weeks, so it was an early night.

 

XXXX

 

Two weeks later, Liam and Zayn were sitting in their lounge room, surveying their handiwork and writing the shopping list for their housewarming party the following night. They had worked really hard on the flat, wanting it to be _their_ flat, rather than Liam’s flat.

They had repainted the walls, creating some feature walls that Zayn had painted murals on. They had also hung some of Zayn’s artwork on the other walls. Their furniture had been such an eclectic mix of styles, but with matching accessories thrown over all of them, they were somehow perfect together.

Liam had gotten rid of his desk and made a long, built in bench one, so both their computers would fit side by side and they had splurged on matching desk chairs to tie it all together. When Zayn had come home from the shops with matching marvel comic tooth brush holders, Liam had dragged him to the bedroom and they hadn’t emerged for two hours.

They were blissfully happy and were excited to share their home with their friends. It wasn’t just a flat now – it was a _real_ home. They hadn’t let anyone set foot in the place and would reveal it at the party.

“Do you think Harry would make some of those little cheese tart thingys?” asked Liam. “I love those!”

Zayn just nodded and smiled at Liam softly. He loved seeing Liam so happy. It was all he ever wanted for his boy.

A knock at the door drew their attention and Liam frowned. “Nobody is supposed to come over till tomorrow night” said Liam, getting up to answer the door.

When he saw who was on his door step, Liam gasped.

“Mum?” he asked, surprised.

Zayn had shot up from where he was sitting on the couch, completely panicked that Karen was about to tell Liam about his visit. He knew keeping that from Liam had been a bad idea. He looked at Karen, wide-eyed and pale. She slid her eyes to him for barely a moment before refocusing on her son.

“Hello Liam” she replied quietly.

“Mum, what are you doing here?” Liam asked, his whole body radiating tension and hostility. Zayn knew he was so angry and hurt. He also knew how much Liam had missed his parents.

Karen seemed to flounder as she searched for the words “I..I, I wanted..”

Zayn walked over to the door, placing a hand on Liam’s back. “Please come in Mrs Payne. I was just about to duck out to the shops, so…”

“No you weren’t” interrupted Liam. “This is your home Zayn, _our_ home and you should never feel like you have to leave.” He grabbed Zayn’s hand and looked back at his mother defiantly, daring her to contradict him.

Karen stared back at him for a moment, at their linked hands and then she smiled softly.

“He’s right Zayn” she replied. “So I take it you two have moved in together?”

“Yes” answered Liam “and I realise what you must think of that, but I don’t really care to be honest! I love Zayn. He’s my family and he’s been there for me when you and Dad haven’t.”

“Liam, may I come in?” Karen answered. “Just for a moment? There is something I’d like to speak with you about.”

Liam seemed reluctant to let her in, so Zayn squeezed his hand, drawing his attention and giving him a small nod, telling him it would be OK.

“Alright” sighed Liam “but remember this is our home and you need to be respectful, or you will be asked to leave.”

“I agree” she replied solemnly.

When they’d stepped inside, she looked around curiously, a small smile appearing on her face.

“The place looks wonderful son” she said “it’s so much more welcoming and homely now. You’ve done well.”

“Thank you” replied Liam, still not sure how to be with her. He was, of course, happy to see her, but he was also angry and hurt and uncertain why she was here. “Why are you here?” he blurted out.

“I had to come” she answered. “I couldn’t leave things as they were, with the horrible words we’d spoken still between us. Liam, we didn’t handle the situation well when you came to us. I’m ashamed of both your father and I, but I can’t change what was said, even if I wanted to. We were both so shocked – and while that isn’t an excuse for the things we said, it’s the truth. I have done a lot of soul searching over the past few months, son. I even went to a few support group meetings for parents of gay children.” She laughed at the shocked faces on both boys before continuing “yes, I know – it was a real experience for me! But I met some lovely parents there and having someone else to talk to really made a difference for me.”

She looked at Zayn affectionately now, before reaching out and taking his hand in hers. “What really was the catalyst for me, though, was the way you spoke about Liam when you came to see me, Zayn.” Zayn looked over at Liam as he choked out a surprised gasp, eyes pleading for him not to be mad. Karen continued speaking, never taking her eyes from Zayn’s face.

“You spoke so passionately, so lovingly about my son and I felt something shift in my heart. You put Liam’s needs above your own pride and I thought if that didn’t demonstrate true love, then what possibly could? I just really only ever wanted happiness for Liam and I see now that you have given him that and I want you to know how truly grateful I am that you’ve been there for him.”

She turned to Liam then, taking his hand in her other one. “Liam, I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry I made you feel unloved for even one second. It’s not true – I have always loved you and will continue to do so till the day I die – unconditionally. I want you to be happy and I know that you’ve found that with Zayn. I’m not proud of how I’ve behaved, but I’d like the chance to make it up to you both if I can. Will you ever be able to forgive me?” The tears were streaming down her face and both Liam and Zayn were openly crying now too.

“Of course Mum” Liam cried “of course I’ll forgive you!” He threw himself at her, hugging her fiercely.

“Thank God” she whispered. As they pulled apart, she looked over at Zayn, who was blubbering at the sight before him. She opened her arms and he sank into her embrace and Liam’s heart contracted at the sight of his boyfriend and his mother embracing.

When they sat with a cup of tea later, Liam broached the subject of his father.

“Does Dad know you’re here?” he asked softly.

“Yes.” She replied. “He’ll come around Liam, he will – he just needs time.”

Liam nodded. “I’ve missed you both so much Mum.”

“I know love, we’ve missed you too – _both of us_.”

 

After his mother had left, Liam plopped himself into Zayn’s lap on the couch, throwing his arms around his neck. “I can’t believe you went to see them for me! I love you so much!”

“So you’re no angry I kept it from you?” asked Zayn anxiously.

“Well, of course I wish you hadn’t – but how can I be mad when you did something I know must have been hard for you, just to make me happy?”

“I’d do anything to make you happy Li, anything.”

“Anything?” asked Liam mischievously “because I can think of something you could do right now to make me _very_ happy!”

Zayn laughed and answered “anything” as he pulled Liam in for a kiss that was a definitely a prelude to something more.

 

XXXX

 

Niall’s buck’s party saw the consumption of more alcohol than any group of people should drink – ever. The paps had a field day snapping Harry and Louis stumbling out of Velocity, holding each other up and giggling like a pair of giddy teenagers. The boys smiled, waved and chatted with the paps, unusually amiable due to their inebriated state.

As the sun rose, they staggered out of the cab and made their way up the stairs of their unit block, barely able to stay upright and laughing every time one of them lost their footing, clinging to the other for support.

As Harry fumbled for the keys, Louis mouthed at his neck. “Hurry up Haz, need you so bad!”

This didn’t help Harry’s dexterity at all. He fumbled with his keys, dropping them on the ground. Before he could reach down and pick them up, Louis pushed him back against the door, biting his neck and reaching for his pants. “Can’t wait” he panted “blowing you right here.”

He sank to his knees in front of Harry, making grabby hands at his buttons. Harry’s brain had blanked out. He knew he should be protesting for some reason, but he couldn’t think beyond the chorus of _yesyesyesyes_ that was thrumming through his body. His pupils were blown and he threw back his head against the wall, not giving one single fuck that they were in public, just needing Louis’ mouth on him desperately.

“Oh Fuck, Lou, yes, yes, need your mouth..” he whimpered.

“Oh for the love of God you two!” said their neighbour Louise, as she exited her apartment for her morning jog and took in the sight of Louis on his knees in front of Harry. “Take it inside!”

Louis paused in his struggle to get Harry’s pants undone – a battle he was currently losing. He grinned and said loudly “Louise! Good morning darling! Listen, can you help me get Harry’s pants undone, there’s a good girl!”

Harry wasn’t capable of adding anything to that, so he simply gave her one of his sweet, shit-eating smiles.

Louise burst out laughing. “Oh my God! You two are impossible! Look at the state of you – did you drink the bar dry tonight?” She started walking over to them, shaking her head.

“Almost” said Harry seriously. “It was Niall’s buck’s party tonight.”

“Well that explains it!” she smiled. “It doesn’t explain why Louis was about to blow you in our corridor?” she asked.

“Dropped the keys” responded Harry – like that explained everything.

“Yeah, taking too long, he was” agreed Louis.

Louise picked up the keys and pulled Louis to his feet. He swayed and staggered backward, grabbing out for Harry and taking him along for the ride. They both toppled onto the floor, Harry landing on top of Louis, both laughing hysterically.

Louise huffed out an exasperated laugh, unlocking the door. “What am I going to do with you two idiots?” she chuckled.

She pushed the door open and helped them inside, handing Harry the keys and bidding them farewell to a chorus of more laughter and the boys yelling “Thankyou!” and “Love you Louise!”

When the door closed, Louis rounded on Harry immediately. “Now where were we?” he growled. He dropped to his knees and once again waged war on Harry’s buttons, grinning up at Harry when he was victorious.

Harry grinned a lop-sided smile back at him. _I’m so gone for this crazy, impulsive boy_ , he thought. Any further thoughts were lost as Louis took him down, hand wrapped around his base.

When they woke the next morning, they were still laying in the hallway, Harry with his pants down around his knees and Louis with his completely off, tossed to the side. They were stiff and sore after sleeping on the ground and downright ill as a result of their alcohol consumption.

They managed to drag themselves into the bathroom and crawled into the shower, not able to actually stand, and sat in the bottom of the shower together, both trying to decide who was going to die first. After twenty minutes of sitting under the warm stream, they finally mustered up the energy to drag themselves out and dry off, falling into bed to sleep it off, wrapped around each other.

 

XXXX

 

The following day, the five of them were piled into Zayn’s small car, heading up to Kent, where Niall’s wedding was taking place in two days’ time. They were all still mildly suffering the after effects of Niall’s _first_ buck’s night, so it was a mostly quiet trip, Niall, Harry and Louis all asleep in the back seat. The _second_ buck’s night would take place tonight with Niall’s brother Greg and his relatives that had travelled over from Ireland, but it would be a much more sedate affair than the one they’d had the night before last.

Barb was already at Crondon Park Estate, where the wedding was being held, overseeing all the last minute arrangements. There was accommodation on site, so they would all be staying on the estate, which had beautiful grounds and a fairytale-type garden, complete with fountain. It wasn’t going to be a massive affair, but both Barb and Niall had big families, so it wouldn’t exactly be a small one either.

The boys were all woken when Zayn pulled the car into a service centre to grab some food and drinks and stretch their legs.

They all decided that greasy food and fizzy drink were the order of the day and bought up big - taking a booth seat and tucking into their order like they’d not eaten in days. Which, to be fair, was pretty accurate, due to the fact that they struggled to keep food down for the first twenty four hours after the party.

Feeling much better after the sustenance, they hit the road again, arriving in Kent in the late afternoon. It was even prettier than the pictures Niall had shown them and Louis smiled fondly as Harry cooed over how lovely it was.

“Oh Niall! What a perfect place for a wedding mate! It’s just so lovely – isn’t it lovely Lou?” he turned to Louis and found him gazing back at him. “It’s beautiful” Louis answered softly, not really talking about the surroundings – just the view right in front of him. Harry didn’t notice, of course, he was too busy cataloguing all the things that made this a perfect venue for a wedding and Louis could barely contain the rush of affection for him.

It was clear to him now that Harry had a bit of a thing for weddings – like, he was excited during the planning, but now that they’d arrived, he was glowing with it.

“Oh, look at that fountain Lou! Niall, you have to take photos in front of it – make sure you tell the photographer!”

“Yeah OK Haz” chuckled Niall “I’ll tell him. You should have been a wedding planner Harry, you’ve missed your calling!” Niall was joking, but Harry’s face lit up at the mere thought.

“Oooh I’d love that – I really would, you know?” he replied seriously and Louis’ wasted, useless heart stuttered in his chest. He really didn’t think he could love this boy any more than he did right at that moment.

Niall’s reunion with his family and their subsequent meeting with Barb’s family, was loud and raucous and wonderful. Both groups were equally delightful and an afternoon drink on the lawn turned into an impromptu BBQ celebration that replaced Niall’s buck’s night 2.0, with nobody wanting to split up the group. It was perfect.

The next day was filled with rehearsals and planning and final fittings for their suits and the gowns for the bridesmaids, which consisted of Barb’s sister and three cousins. All of the bridesmaids were more than a little put out there wasn’t one straight groomsman among them and complained bitterly to Niall, who simply laughed and told them he’d introduce them to his cousins. They seemed a little happier about that, so all was well in the end.

That night, the night before the wedding, was a formal dinner for both families and the wedding party. It was an elegant affair and it was followed by an early night, ready for the wedding after lunch the following day.

As they lay in bed that night, trading lazy kisses, Harry put a hand to Louis’ cheek as he asked softly “do you ever think what our wedding would be like Lou?” he looked up at Louis, eyes soft, but a trace of vulnerability and uncertainty in them, like maybe he was the only one who had imagined their future together.

Louis smiled down at him tenderly, answering “all the time.”

Harry’s face lit up, his smile so brilliant that Louis felt it’s warmth like a real, tangible thing. “Really?” he asked.

“Really” Louis replied. “It’s less about specifics – like not where and when type of stuff. More like imagining us dressed in tuxes and trading vows and seeing our families there, that type of thing. Been thinking about since we met if I’m honest” he added sheepishly. “It just feels like it’s inevitable or something – at least to me it does. I often think of our lives in the future too, imagine our kids and stuff, I don’t know, feels silly saying it out loud like that.” He was blushing now, but Harry was looking back at him, eyes sparkling.

“Me too” whispered Harry. “I think about it all the time. I love you so much Lou.”

“I love you Harry – I really, really love you.”

All other discussion of their future was swallowed up in the dance of their bodies as they came together, their lazy kisses turning heated. There was an added intensity to their interaction after the words they’d spoken and as Louis slowly undressed Harry, he was pliant and responsive like never before. He gasped and moaned as Louis opened him up, becoming incoherent as the pleasure became almost too much.

‘Lou, ugh, I need, aaahhhh, I , you…ooohhhh Fuck!”

Louis lifted his head from where he was sucking a mark into the top of Harry’s thigh, just near his groin and he panted “What do you need baby? Tell me, tell me what you want love.”

“Need you to fuck me, ugh, ungh, _want_ you to fuck me, please Lou!” he whimpered out between choked sounds.

“Jesus Haz! You’re so fucking gorgeous like this!” he moaned, breathing heavily. “Gonna make you feel so good baby.”

He pulled his fingers out and quickly positioned himself, sliding into Harry is one long, slow motion.

“Oh Yeeeeeees!” groaned Harry, quickly wrapping his legs around Louis’ body, using his feet to put pressure on Louis’ bum, making sure he was in as far as he could go and tilting his hips up till he bottomed out.

“Oh Shit Harry, Fuck! You’re amazing baby! You’re so fucking amazing! You feel so good.”

Harry just tilted his hips again, urging Louis to move. Louis started a slow rhythm, thrusting at an excruciating pace. It was both agony and ecstasy, so wonderful, yet not enough and Harry was babbling now, pleading with him to move faster.

“Lou, I can’t, Oh yes! I can’t… you…please Lou, faster!”

Louis had been struggling to control himself as Harry lay under him, gasping and moaning. He watched Harry’s face twist and contort with each thrust and he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. When Harry pleaded for him to go faster, something snapped and he couldn’t hold his control any longer. He started thrusting faster and faster, harder and harder, finding Harry’s prostate and slamming into it relentlessly. It didn’t take long before Harry was letting out a strangled keening noise and coming apart underneath him, Louis’ name falling from his lips. Watching Harry come apart was more than he could take and he felt his climax approaching in every nerve ending, before it exploded through his body, his chest jerking forward with the forced of it, and spread to every extremity. It seemed to go on forever, the ripples of pleasure still washing over him as he lay beside Harry panting heavily minutes later.

It felt monumental, like something important had just happened. It was the same thing they’d done many times before, but it felt different, better – more significant somehow. Louis knew Harry felt the same by the way he was looking back at Louis, running a hand through his fringe and smiling softly – like he had a secret.  

The battle to stay awake was lost soon after and they fell asleep contented and blissfully sated.

 

XXXX

 

The wedding was picture perfect. It was cool, but the sun was shining and the bride and groom were radiant, their mood contagious.

Harry was beside himself, loving every minute of every part of the day and Louis couldn’t help but be completely charmed by his delight at all things wedding related.

He was also tipsy, which Louis found completely charming, watching him dance with Niall’s nephew Theo on his hip and a little flower girl holding his other hand. He was happy, smiling ear to ear and thoroughly enchanted with everything and everyone. Louis was watching him fondly when Barb came to stand next to him. She nodded her head at Harry and asked “Lou, when are you going to propose and be done with it? That boy needs a ring on his finger and a baby in his arms as soon as possible!”

Louis laughed as he replied “he does, doesn’t he? I had no idea he was this enamoured with even the idea of a wedding – any wedding! He’s beyond ridiculous! There’s only one way to deal with that kind of hopeless romantic isn’t there? I’ll _have_ to marry him now!”

Barb chuckled as she agreed wholeheartedly, squealing with delight! “Yes! I knew you’d be next! I’m totally helping him plan the big day!”

Louis shook his head. “Remember now – not a word! It’ll happen when I’m ready and I don’t want anyone giving him a head’s up it’s coming. Anyway – you’ve your own wedding to concentrate on for today!”

“No worries” replied Barb “just don’t wait too long OK?”

He stood watching Harry for a bit longer, before Harry looked up and grinned at him from across the room. Just like always, the breath left his lungs and fireworks skimmed beneath his skin, setting it on fire. He vaguely wondered as he grinned back at Harry, whether that would ever go away, or diminish, or if he’d still feel the same sensation when Harry looked at him when they were old and grey.

His musings were interrupted as they called for all the single ladies to assemble in the middle of the dance floor for the tossing of the bouquet. Harry moved to the side of the floor, handing Theo back to his mum and watching with evil glee as the ladies all jostled each other for the prime spot.

When Barb was getting ready to toss the bouquet over her shoulder, she turned to look at Louis, giving him a wink before she threw it off centre and straight into Harry’s arms. Harry was both shocked and utterly delighted, his stunningly bright smile stretching across his face, dimples showing as everybody cheered.

Louis looked over to see Barb chuckling and he shook his head, putting his head in his hands. There’d be no stopping it now – he’d have to propose!

Surprisingly, as he looked across and caught Harry’s eye, sending him a wink and a grin, he found he was OK with that. More than OK really – he was pretty excited about it.


End file.
